Nottinghamshire Crimestoppers launches youth project to battle knife crime

[26 September 2008]

The Nottingham regional board of Crimestoppers will be bringing the charity's youth brand, ShadowCS, to the city's youngsters in a bid to deter them from the knife crime culture that has claimed so many lives across the country.

School pupils aged 13 – 16 from all over Nottingham will be attending the launch event on Monday 29 September 2008, held at Nottingham's Galleries of Justice, 11.00am – 1.00pm. The event will include a session on understanding the law with the National Centre for Citizenship and the Law (NCCL); a talk from Nottinghamshire Police about policing today and what young people can expect if they are found carrying a knife; and a presentation to winners of a Nottinghamshire Crimestoppers Christmas card competition.

Phil Pyatt, Head of Youth, said: “Knife crime is unfortunately an issue which is affecting many young people, so as a crime-fighting charity it is important that Crimestoppers reaches out to them. Through the youth work that we do, we try and reiterate to young people that Crimestoppers is not part of the police and that they can call or email Crimestoppers anonymously, they have nothing to fear as no one will ever know that they called.

“ShadowCS has been designed in conjunction with young people across the country to ensure we deliver a resource which is relevant and interesting to them, so that hopefully they will engage with crime topics which affect them and learn about the dangers and devastation crime causes which we hope will act as a deterrent from that way of life.”

The ShadowCS website www.shadowcs.co.uk is aimed at 11 – 16-year-olds and includes legal information, an anonymous advice service, games, gossip and music. The Crimestoppers youth team also produce educational resources for schools and youth workers including print material and the latest ShadowCS DVD aimed at combating gun and knife crime amongst young people.

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Contact Crimestoppers' press office for more information.

Notes to editors

Crimestoppers

• Crimestoppers is an independent charity dedicated to solving crimes and taking criminals off the streets. Around 17 people are arrested and charged every day as a result of information given to Crimestoppers. One person every five days is charged with murder.
• Since Crimestoppers began in 1988, it has received 1,011,582 actionable calls, resulting in over 87,385 arrests and charges. Over £103 million worth of property has been recovered and over £159 million worth of drugs.
• Crimestoppers UK was founded by Lord Ashcroft, KCMG, Chairman of Trustees. In 1988, he launched Crimestoppers in the Metropolitan Police area. Crimestoppers is built on a three-way partnership between the business community, the police and the media.
• Charity number: 1108687

The National Centre for Citizenship and the Law: Galleries of Justice

The NCCL is the education provider for the Galleries of Justice museum (operating under the Museum of Law Trust), delivering learning programmes and resources to help develop children and young people's understanding of the law and how to live within it and achieve sustainable crime prevention and good citizenship outcomes. The NCCL is based within an Edwardian police station at the Galleries of Justice and has a mission to 'Keep Kids Away from Crime and Out of Prison'.

The Galleries current Dr Massey exhibition gives a stark reminder of the reality of gun and knife crime through it's collection of weapons from Nottinghamshire Police amnesties.

Nottinghamshire Police

Nottinghamshire Police is one of ten forces involved in a national project to tackle knife crime and share best practice. Other forces involved are Metropolitan Police, West Midlands Police, Greater Manchester Police, Merseyside Police, West Yorkshire Police, Thames Valley Police, South Wales Police, Essex Police and Lancashire Police.

In Nottingham:

• There has been a 20% reduction in stabbings in the past 12 recorded months.
• There has been a 19% reduction in the number of knives used in stabbings in the past 12 recorded months.
• There has been a 8% reduction in the number of people found in possession of a knife across Nottinghamshire.