Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner hands over the funding to Crimestoppers representatives, from left, Warwickshire committee Vice Chair Rob Musgrove; Regional Manager Pauline Hadley and Senior Trust Manager Amanda Corcoran.
Independent crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers has been granted over £16,000 by Warwickshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner to help encourage more people to report information about crime.
The funding, from Philip Seccombe’s Commissioner’s Grants Scheme, will enable the charity to run targeted campaigns to encourage people to pass on information about crime in Warwickshire completely anonymously. The funding includes recruiting a youth worker to deliver their ‘Fearless’ initiative to schools and youth groups across the county.
Fearless encourages young people to make positive, informed decisions around crime and criminality and the locally-held sessions will help young people who are potentially at risk in some way from issues such as cyber crime, bullying, sexting and associated crimes.
Crimestoppers runs a UK Contact Centre, staffed by professionals. The charity empowers people, especially those who do not feel able to speak directly to police, to speak up about crime. By calling 0800 555 111 or reporting information using their non-traceable online form, vulnerable individuals and communities can stand up against criminals without fear of intimidation or possible retaliation.
Anyone who contacts Crimestoppers with information is guaranteed anonymity, meaning no information is ever recorded or passed on which could lead to their identity being discovered. Last year over 400,000 members of the public contacted Crimestoppers, enabling the charity to pass on more than 125,000 pieces of useful anonymous information to law enforcement agencies across the country.
Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe said: “It’s really important for the police to get as much information as they can from the public in order to help solve crimes and help victims, but not everyone is in a position to be able to contact the police directly. Crimestoppers provides a really valuable way for people to pass on what they know about crime without ever having to give any personal details.
“The funding I am providing will enable Crimestoppers to focus their activities here in Warwickshire to help boost the information police receive from the public about some of the most worrying crimes in our communities. I am also pleased that the Fearless initiative will be put in place in schools and youth groups to help educate vulnerable young people about the dangers they may face and how they can get help and stay safe.”
Pauline Hadley, Regional Manager for Crimestoppers said: “Crimestoppers is here to support those who are vulnerable to crime and feel intimidated by criminals. The charity offers the only viable way to give information without fear of reprisals.
“Our dedicated volunteers are the life blood of the charity. We are calling for more people who seek a rewarding three hours a week, to share their project, admin or communications skills to contact us through crimestoppers-uk.org.
“Anyone who has information about crime that they wish to pass on anonymously can do so by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, or use our encrypted anonymous form online at crimestoppers-uk.org.”
