Meet the Casualty Reduction Team

The Casualty Reduction Team are a small team based along the coast of Sussex. An integral team within the Partnership, Casualty Reduction Officers (CROs) are responsible for delivering a number of road safety interventions, alongside supporting schemes such as Community Speed Watch and Operation Crackdown. With over 75 years’ combined experience in policing, the SSRP Casualty Reduction Team act as a conduit of road safety expertise, liaising with colleagues across the Partnership to identify routes to resolution for many road safety concerns. Casualty Reduction Officers support Sussex Police to enforce the roads and educate road users on the importance of adhering to legislation.

Q. What’s the difference between Sussex Police Officers and Casualty Reduction Officers?
A. SSRP Casualty Reduction Officers are Sussex Police Officers, and have the same authority as other police officers in the Force. However, the Casualty Reduction Officers are specifically deployed by SSRP to engage and educate road users to reduce KSIs in line with Partnership priorities and data. Whilst their typical day means they are often following up on Operation Crackdown reports or supporting CSW groups across the county, they may also respond to emergencies or provide assistance to the public at any given moment.

Q. How do Casualty Reduction Officers utilise reports made to Operation Crackdown?
A. The Operation Crackdown team may refer reports to the Casualty Reduction Team where concerns have been raised around standards of driving or vehicles, along with repeat reports regarding a driver or vehicle. Casualty Reduction Officers may provide further support, such as conducting eyesight tests, inspecting vehicles or assessing the location of reports to deploy targeted operational activity. The team provides vital support to the Operation Crackdown team and the Collision Unit to ensure information provided by the public is used to its full potential.

Q. What does a day look like for the Casualty Reduction Team?
A. The Casualty Reduction Team often spend much of their time out on patrol across Sussex, educating road users on the importance of adhering to road safety legislation and guidance. You will often find the team at SSRP events and supporting local and national road safety campaigns. The Casualty Reduction Team work to reduce Killed or Seriously Injured (KSI) collisions across the county, therefore much of their work centres around reducing speed, conducting fitness to drive tests, supporting Roads Policing operations and Community Speed Watch teams. You can keep up to date with local events and opportunities to meet the team via our Events page.

Q. How does the Casualty Reduction Team help reduce speeding in my community?
A. The Casualty Reduction Team amalgamate numerous data sources to respond to issues of speeding across Sussex. Notably, the team utilise reports made to Operation Crackdown, collision reports and KSI  statistics to identify opportunities of resolution and strategic operations. Concerns raised by members of the public can be logged by the SSRP Administrative team, which is then raised at Partnership Engineering and Road Safety meetings for further review.