Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Fearless approach towards reporting festive crime
The youth service of independent charity Crimestoppers has launched a new Christmas campaign to encourage Monklands youngsters to speak up 100 per cent anonymously when they have valuable information about crime over the festive season.
Supported by Network Rail, Fearless is running a series of important crime prevention messages on social media to raise awareness of how young people can look out for their friends and speak up if they’re concerned that they might be being harmed or exploited.
Fearless teams will also be in train stations all across Scotland to talk to rail passengers about the impact of anti-social behaviour and raise awareness of their vital service.
The charity hopes that more Monklands youths will be empowered to recognise when something isn’t right and to speak up with information about who is responsible for crime, whilst staying anonymous.
Regardless of the day or time – even if it’s Christmas Day – youngsters can go online and complete a short, simple and secure form with information or suspicions about crime in their area.
From there, one of the charity’s key workers in their UK Contact Centre will immediately process that information and pass it on to Police Scotland – making sure to keep the young person’s identity 100 per cent anonymous at all times.
Lyndsay Mcdade, national youth projects cooordinator for Crimestoppers Scotland, told the Advertiser “I’m delighted to be launching our festive campaign with Network Rail Scotland.
“This time of year can be full of fun and excitement, but for some people it can be a time of added pressures and concerns. That’s why it’s so important for young people to look out for each other and speak up.
“Our team are here, 24/7, processing the information you pass on anonymously about crime, helping to keep Scotland safe this winter.
“At Fearless.org, we can’t trace your IP addresses or any contact details that could identify you. Nobody will ever know the information came from you, but it will have made such a positive difference.”
Allan Brooking, community safety manager at Scotland’s Railway, added: “We’re always working hard to make Scotland’s Railway safer for passengers and local communities and we are proud to be supporting Fearless.org with the festive campaign.
“During the Christmas and New Year period we often see a marked increase in young passengers using rail services. We want young people to enjoy the festivities but it’s vital they are safe when travelling and continue to stay safe once they reach their destination.
“We fully appreciate for some people this time of year can bring additional challenges and we hope our partnership with Fearless will provide young people with the knowledge they need to anonymously report crime.”