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3 November 2008
A new national billboard campaign encouraging young people and communities to stand together against knife crime has launched today.
The new interactive campaign will run in phases throughout the next three months in urban residential areas across England and Wales, including the ten areas involved in the Tackling Knives Action Programme.
Young people will be encouraged to show their support by adding their own anti-knife photo pledges to the Bebo website (new window).
Their images will then be included on later versions of the posters in the series which will be unveiled by the Home Secretary next month.
Home Secretary's statement
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said, 'I want young people to stand united with us in the fight to tackle knife crime and send a clear message that weapons won’t be tolerated on our streets.
'Over 60,000 young people have visited the It Doesn’t Have to Happen (new window) page on Bebo and the site has over 6,000 friends.
'The vast majority of young people are honest and law-abiding and it is crucial that we all spread the message more widely that carrying a knife is not acceptable. We can’t do this alone – we need the help of local communities to make a stand.'
The latest part of an intense campaign
The new billboards are the latest step in the government’s £3m national marketing campaign, It Doesn’t Have to Happen, which was launched in May this year.
The campaign, created by young people, for young people, has used radio and viral adverts to reach its target audience and direct them to a dedicated page on the Bebo social networking site (new window) where they can come together in the fight against knife crime.
So far 2.2m young people have seen the adverts on websites and 1.7m people have heard the radio adverts.
Notes to editors
- More details about the anti-knife crime campaign can be found at the dedicated page on Bebo (new window).
- The ten areas taking part in the Tackling Knives Action Programme are London, Essex, Lancashire, West Yorkshire, Merseyside, the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Nottinghamshire, South Wales and Thames Valley. The programme, which will run until March 2009, is delivering tough enforcement combined with education, prevention work and information campaigns designed to keep youngsters on the right track.
- For PDFs of the billboards, please contact the Home Office Press Office Newsdesk on 0207 035 3535.
- You can download a list of areas where the billboards will be located.
