Four Shires

Fearless Buddies step up to fight crime in Thames Valley

This week a brand new initiative to create 1000s of crime-fighting Buddies is being introduced by Crimestoppers into every secondary school in Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes.

 

Young people are more likely to be affected by crime than adults and contrary to popular belief they are not always the offenders.

 

‘Buddies’ is an innovative initiative that introduces 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 Buddies Scheme run by the independent charity Crimestoppers in Thames Valley will work closely with schools’ police officers, communities and many other partners and offers all local secondary schools, and adults working with young people, the opportunity to register for Buddies and receive a new, 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.

 

Buddies links seamlessly with Fearless.org, the youth brand that introduces young people to the Crimestoppers safe and anonymous service where the public can pass on information about crimes by phone on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.