Never too young to learn

Last summer literally hundreds of primary school children from throughout Northern Ireland enjoyed discovering more about Crimestoppers, thanks to a highly successful competition organised by Northern Ireland Crimestoppers.

The competition was created with the specific aim of interacting with children at an early age so they could easily recognise the anonymous Crimestoppers phone number, 0800 555 111 and understand Crimestoppers' role within their community. Furthermore, the competition cleverly engaged with their parents to raise even more awareness of the fundamental Crimestoppers values.

The competition was developed by Stakeholder Communications in Belfast, who, having been briefed by Crimestoppers, went about the task of creating an enjoyable activity which would inspire children of primary school age to take an interest in learning more about Crimestoppers. A colouring-in competition was selected from different proposals to be supported by all main regional weekly papers in Northern Ireland during the summer months. The competition was designed to use one of the traditionally most popular kids pastimes to drive home a serious message about Crimestoppers to young people, their parents and their families.

All children from the ages of 5-11 years old were asked to colour-in a picture of Ice Hockey players to win a fantastic prize of a family fun day. Each region of Northern Ireland had its very own family prize to make sure mass participation, with all children having an equal chance to win. The Ice Hockey players in the picture had the Crimestoppers telephone number clearly displayed upon their shirts, so the children would learn to recognise number as they coloured-in. The picture of the Ice Hockey players linked to the prize of a VIP family day out to see the very popular Belfast Giants Ice Hockey team play at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast.

Importantly, the meaning behind the number had to be provided, so the children could understand why the number was so vital. So a fact-file was issued, to be printed as an entry form with each picture. Pictures could only enter the competition if the correct answer to a Crimestoppers question was provided. We knew the children would colour the picture but the question would have to be answered by an older person such as a parent, guardian or family member. Therefore, the key Crimestoppers facts would be passed on from adult to child, and each would learn so much more from the experience.

The competition was printed in all main weekly papers with readership figures of over 180,000, encompassing all social and religious backgrounds. This resulted in a huge response from entries throughout Northern Ireland with press titles such as The Impartial Reporter in Enniskillen in the West, stretching to the Down Democrat in the East. Northern Ireland's leading press title the Belfast Telegraph ran the competition across all four versions of their free weekly newspaper, so every household in Belfast had the chance to enter and discover the Crimestoppers facts. After 8 winning pictures were selected from across Northern Ireland (6 counties and 2 winners specifically from Belfast), the winner and their families enjoyed a spectacular VIP day out at the Odyssey arena. The 8 prizes, which were gratefully donated, included family passes to the cinema, ten pin bowling and the interactive discovery centre W5. The exciting climax of the day involved a winners meal in the VIP box overlooking the ice, before watching the Belfast Giants play in a thrilling Superleague encounter.

Northern Ireland Crimestoppers' Chairman Trevor Annon congratulated all the lucky winners on the night at the Ice Hockey. Huge smiles filled the VIP box as the winners stood for photos with Trevor as they held aloft their winning pictures which had been made to poster size. These pictures were then printed in the weekly title associated with each winner, to reiterate further the key messages stating the Crimestoppers number. There's no doubt all the families enjoyed a fabulous day which will live long in the memory for all concerned thanks to Crimestoppers. But beyond that, the hundreds of children across Northern Ireland who entered the competition now know the Crimestoppers telephone number and when to use it.

After such a successful campaign in the summer targeting all primary school children in Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Crimestoppers is looking forward to developing a new campaign to inspire and interact with older children in the very near future.