Victorious Festival 2023: Hampshire police hail operation to keep people safe at event a success

The force reported there were seven assaults including one incident resulting in a man being charged at the Southsea Common music extravaganza event.

READ NOW:

• New burger van

• Victorious Festival in pictures

Other reported offences saw three drug related crimes, three for public order and a single offensive weapon incident involving a knife.

Officers issued three community resolutions for cannabis possession and two community resolutions for two actual bodily harm level assaults. The offensive weapon relates to a knife that was seen in a separate incident.

Another actual bodily harm level assault led to Joshua King, 35, of no fixed address, being charged with two counts of assault and one count of criminal damage. He has been remanded into custody and will next appear at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court on Thursday. A man in his 30s sustained minor injuries during the incident.

Superintendent Sarah Jackson, who oversaw the policing of Victorious Festival 2023, said: “The effective partnership working between festival organisers, police and our partner agencies to ensure that Victorious Festival is a safe event for everyone attending has been evidenced well again this year.

“One of our areas of focus continues to be making sure that vulnerable people are safeguarded and ensuring that the event is a safe space for women and girls, and indeed all festival-goers. Festival staff work hard to identify anything that needs to be raised to us so that we can investigate all reports of criminality.

“As with previous years, there has been excellent welfare provision in place to support that safeguarding role, with designated welfare areas and roaming welfare intervention teams. These staff, who have had specific training, have been available to signpost festival-goers to any relevant support services they require.

“The policing operation saw officers and staff working very hard to engage with the public, and where victims of crime were identified, investigations were launched.”

The three-day event saw around 180,000 people attend.

A Victorious Festival spokesperson said: “We're thrilled with the outcome of the report. We pride ourselves on being one the safest large-scale music festivals in the country and these results fully support that.

“We're incredibly proud of the work welfare, medical, security and Hampshire Constabulary do and it's a pleasure to work with partners who share our vision in making Victorious a fantastically safe event for everyone.”