A Merseyside initiative has helped create a 22% decrease in knife crime between 2022-23 compared to last year.
Crime Stoppers is a 35 year old independent charity which provides the public with the chance to report violations anonymously, and sport plays a key role in helping youngsters stay on the straight and narrow.
North West Regional Manager Gary Murray, told MerseysportLive about the initiatives the charity put in the region, and how sport can help youths of today.
If you have information about crime or the people behind it, speak to Crimestoppers.
We never ask for your personal details, just what you know about crime.
Tell us what you know and stay 100% anonymous. Always. https://t.co/8tgGzwiue5 pic.twitter.com/5yrRMMmCZR
— Crimestoppers (@CrimestoppersUK) February 19, 2024
“We receive over a quarter of a million pieces of information a year from the public, and that information is then sanitised. It gets sent to the 43 police forces throughout the country. On Merseyside, that equates to around seven and a half thousand pieces of actionable information.”
“We get probably around 20,000 contacts from Merseyside. About 70% of our information comes in online, about 20 to 25% of our information comes through the telephone.”
Crime Stoppers’ contacts has enabled the charity to work with Merseyside sports clubs such as St Helens RFC, and it organises events in oehr sports, with dance and gymnastics classes to spread the message of how to avoid crime, and keep youths on the right side of the law.
“All the different clubs offer other activities for young people to get involved in. They do lots of classes such as drama or dance and whatever the particular hub can offer. You have a lot of kids who like the arts, they all don’t necessarily want to be involved in football or rugby. We have a youth front called Fearless.org. This is where young people can report any concerns. The awareness of this site is really low.”
Head to https://t.co/iacdXCDbAV for more FAQ’s pic.twitter.com/nS3NngFDUz
— fearless.org (@FearlessORG) February 19, 2024
The charity have numerous initiatives to promote sport as the better way of life.
“People can become victims to county lines, young people who were exploited. It’s not just football, it’s how we reach young people through sport generally. And what we’ve got coming up on the 30th of March, we have a partnership with the Merseyside Football Association. It’s a great cause. What we’re trying to do is develop more and more activities throughout the year.”
https://crimestoppers-uk.org/fearless
