Young people in Suffolk Coastal are being urged to become fearless in the fight against crime following the launch of a new service for the county. [3 July 2012]

Fearless.org was launched nationally in April 2010 and is a new website by the independent charity Crimestoppers where young people can get information about crimes that affect them. It also gives them the opportunity to pass on information about crime 100% anonymously. It is now being officially launched in Suffolk Coastal with the support of Suffolk Coastal’s Community Safety Partnership and Local Strategic Partnership.

Two events are being held to launch Fearless.org at Felixstowe Academy and Leiston High School in the next few weeks. The events will include an interactive theatre performance and workshops by The Solomon Theatre and a talk by Fearless youth workers.

Ann Scott, Eastern Regional Manager for Crimestoppers, explained why Fearless.org is so important: “Young people are one of the most important audiences for Crimestoppers to communicate with, but they haven’t always understood or been willing to interact with the charity. One of the key reasons for re-launching Crimestoppers for young people is to empower them to be ‘fearless’ in passing on information about crime anonymously if they feel unable to talk to Police.

She continued:  “We want to reassure young people that information they give to Fearless.org about crime is taken seriously and that they have nothing to fear by contacting the charity. When someone contacts us we do not ask for their name or take any personal details. We do not trace calls/IP addresses and we do not record our calls. Those who give information do not have to give a statement to Police or go to court. In the 24 years that Crimestoppers has been running we have never revealed anyone’s identity”. 

Crimestoppers plays a major part in the fight against crime. It has received over 1.3 million calls to date and every day 23 people are arrested as a result of information given to Crimestoppers. Recent end of year results for Crimestoppers in Suffolk revealed a staggering 66% increase in calls indicating that the public really do trust the charity with their information.

Julia Catterwell, Suffolk Coastal’s Community Safety Officer, commented “This is a really good partnership developed with the local authorities, Crimestoppers and local schools. We know how disconnected young people can feel and gaining information directly from them will enable us, the Police and a range of other agencies to better understand and therefore better respond to the issues that young people face. Young people can get such a bad press sometimes when it comes to crime and anti-social behaviour. What a lot of people don’t know is that young people are the group that are most likely to be victims of crime, so it’s crucial that organisations work together to better engage with young people”.

The website is at: www.fearless.org and the brand new Fearless film can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gHwb1clvExA

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For further information or to attend an event please contact Ann Scott, Crimestoppers Eastern Regional Manager, on 01255 475954 or ann.scott@crimestoppers-uk.org