Dangers of knife crime on Wellingborough's Queensway estate highlighted in new campaign by Crimestoppers youth service Fearless.org

Youth service Fearless.org has launched a new campaign this week on Wellingborough’s Queensway estate to educate young people about knife crime and how to keep themselves and others safe.

The campaign, running for four weeks, informs young people and the wider community about knife crime and its consequences.

Fearless.org – which is the youth service of charity Crimestoppers – gives young people an option of staying 100 per cent anonymous when speaking up about crime.

Last month, Crimestoppers appealed for information about burglary, robbery and theft in the area as part of a wider Safer Streets initiative by Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold.

This phase focuses on young people and knife crime, highlighting that Fearless.org is an alternative way to report crime 100 per cent anonymously.

While Crimestoppers and Fearless.org take crime information anonymously and pass on what they’re told, the charity is proud of its independence from the police and its guarantee of protecting the identity of everyone who contacts them.

Yesterday, an AdVan displayed the Fearless.org message across the Queensway estate – the estate where Dylan Holliday was tragically stabbed to death in the A509 underpass near Shelley Road on August 5, 2021 – on the campaign’s launch day.

Year 9 and 10 students from Weavers Academy also watched a drama production showing the impact and consequences of knife crime, before taking part in workshops to discuss what they had learned.

Lydia Patsalides, East Midlands regional manager for the charity Crimestoppers, said: “Encouraging young people to speak up about crime anonymously and without fear of retribution is at the heart of Fearless.org.

"It’s hard to quantify how many young people in Northamptonshire are affected by crime.

"From recent surveys we know they are more likely to experience higher rates of crime but be far less likely to speak up.

“Fearless.org engages and helps inform young people about crime, encouraging them to talk honestly about their worries or concerns, and in turn offers brutally honest information about crime and its consequences.

"The charity wants to give young people the whole picture to enable them to make informed decisions.

"We are hoping to deter young people from picking up a knife.

“Our charity has always kept its promise of anonymity to everyone who contacts us.

"If you’re a young person and know who is involved in exploiting young people or involved in other crime, you can tell us what you know while staying 100 per cent anonymous at Fearless.org.”

Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold said: “Involving young people in the programme of work that we are carrying out on Queensway is vital, so that they know how to keep themselves safe, and so that they can easily share any concerns they have about crime.

"Intervening at the earliest possible stage to prevent crime and protect young people will always be the best approach and will give them skills and resilience they will take with them through their life.”

For more information on Fearless.org and the resources it has available for young people and their peers, visit Fearless.org.