Scotland's young people praised for speaking up about crime
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The youth programme of independent charity Crimestoppers has thanked young people for speaking up about crime anonymously during the coronavirus crisis.
The charity says it has has worked around the clock to produce a series of Scotland-wide youth resilience campaigns to keep young people and their families safe from crime throughout the lockdown period. These have included doorstep crime prevention, key signs to look out for child harm and neglect and, most recently, drugs.
The charity says it has been overwhelmed by the numbers sharing the campaign messaging, with more than 16,000 young people going to the Fearless website to find out more.
Young people in different parts of Scotland have spoken up about child harm and neglect, drugs and violent crime.
One young person reported their concern about two children being seriously neglected and harmed. Another reported a gang who were forcing young teenagers to carry and sell drugs through threats of violence and intimidation.
Lyndsay McDade, senior youth projects officer for Crimestoppers Scotland, said: “In what has been a really challenging time for young people – not being able to see friends and family or attend school, the changes to the exam diet and even missing proms – I’m so proud of how well they’ve responded.
“Young people living in Scotland have engaged with our campaigns and spoken up more than anywhere else in the UK, and their engagement with our charity shows just how invested they’ve been in supporting their communities.
“As a charity, we have been able to continue to provide our invaluable service 24/7 during these unprecedented times and that has been incredibly important to our young people.
“They know that they can trust us with information about crime 100 per cent anonymously – at fearless.org we can’t trace their IP addresses or any contact details that could identify them. Nobody will ever know the information came from them but they will have made a such a positive difference.”
Scotland's community safety minister Ash Denham said: “The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring communities remain safe and resilient as we emerge from these unprecedented times.
“I would like to thank Fearless and the children and young people who have stepped up in recent months to help keep people in Scotland safe.
“This has resulted in significant, actionable information about child harm and neglect, drugs and violent crimes from all over the country being passed to Police Scotland. This is a remarkable achievement and the courage, community spirit and kindness shown by those reporting is inspiring.”
Police Scotland's Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie said: “Fearless, and indeed Crimestoppers as a whole, is an integral partner in helping us offer a tangible and secure alternative for those who wish to remain anonymous in reporting crime and concern for others.
“We recognise how challenging recent times have been for children and young people and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the young people of Scotland for the crucial role they are playing in the collective effort to stay safe, protect others and save lives."
