The truth about knife crime laid bare

A youth charity has teamed up with No Knives Better Lives to ensure young people know the facts around knife carrying and encourage them to speak up.

Fearless – the youth service of Crimestoppers – has stopped using images of knives in Scotland, opting instead for‘No Knives Better Lives’images which have been co-designed by young people with experience of offending.

Around half of the information Fearless receives in Scotland relates to knife carrying and it’s one of the most common issues that young people raise during the charity’s outreach work.

Knife crime and overall violence have dropped significantly in Scotland over the past 10 years and charity workers are keen to ensure this reduction continues.

The two-leading youth organisations are equipping every secondary school in Scotland with posters and resources.

Lyndsay McDade, senior youth projects officer at Crimestoppers, said:“By producing a campaign that does not use sensationalised images, we hope that young people will be more reassured that carrying a knife should not be considered as the‘norm’; thus, encouraging prevention whilst also encouraging reporting for those too afraid to speak up.

“Our message to young people is clear – if you know or suspect someone regularly carries a knife and you don’t feel able to tell anyone, tell our charity 100 per cent anonymously.

You can trust us with the information and stay confident that it will be used to make Scotland safer for everyone.”