Teenagers Get Help to Fight Crime

7 February 2012, 12:00

A new scheme to get thousands of young people learning how to stay safe from crime is being brought into all secondary schools in the Thames Valley.

The charity Crimestoppers says young people are more likely to be affected by crime than adults and contrary to popular belief they are not always the offenders.

Schools in Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes will pilot the Buddies scheme, which introduce young people to the charity's Fearless.org website, enabling them to take a stand against crime - safely and anonymously.  

Phil Gomm, Deputy Chair of Thames Valley Crimestoppers, who created the project, commented:

"Buddies is for young people between the ages of 11-18 years, who will be given the resources and knowledge to keep themselves safe from crime and ultimately work towards making their communities safer places in which to live.  

We are delighted to be piloting the Buddies scheme here first as I believe we can demonstrate how to create future generations of fearless doers, rather than scared onlookers."

The project's being run by Crimestoppers in Thames Valley and they'll be working closely with schools' police officers, communities.

All secondary schools, and adults working with young people will get the opportunity to register for Buddies and receive a free resource to educate and empower young people about fighting crime.

The program is structured to tackle subjects such as cybercrime & bullying, drugs & alcohol, gun & knife crime, vandalism and violence and looks to challenge pupils' perceptions, stimulate debate and encourage good citizenship.