Crimestoppers launch urgent appeal for information on those people in Sussex carrying weapons.

As society opens up, Crimestoppers appeals for anonymous information on those carrying weapons in Sussex & warns that violent crime remains a persistent but preventable problem

Last November, Crimestoppers ran its first-ever Silence Won't Stop Violence campaign which saw the public respond positively and anonymously. Information on gangs rose by 17%, County Lines up by 15%, cuckooing up by two-thirds and information on firearms rose by 5% compared to the period prior to the appeal.

Whilst official statistics reveal knife crime has now fallen for four quarters in a row, we should not become complacent. Last year:

• 275 people lost their life to a knife or sharp instrument in England and Wales
• 4,620 people were admitted to hospitals in England for attacks by sharp objects.

As the pandemic continues to impact the NHS, we should all help protect communities and health service from harm.

In 2019, over half of violent incidents across the UK were not reported to the police. Crimestoppers believes that Silence Won’t Stop Violence and is informing the public across Sussex and Surrey that everyone has the means and a voice to anonymously speak up to help stop or solve violent crime. Indeed, last year our charity passed on over 5,200 anonymous pieces of information about all crime types given to us from the people of Sussex and Surrey.

The pandemic had also put young people in a vulnerable position, due to a lack of employment opportunities. In 2020, referrals of children suspected to be victims of  County Lines gangs increased by 31%*.

Young people are at a greater risk of being exploited by these gangs due to false promises of easy money. We want to raise awareness amongst our older digital audiences of our youth service, Fearless.org, to ensure that anyone, regardless of age, feels comfortable speaking up and telling us what they know.

Here are some anonymised examples of information the charity has recently received nationally:

• Heroin and crack cocaine dealers, who carried knives and guns, arrested and charged after information we passed on led police to find thousands of pounds in cash, along with guns, ammunition and a large quantity of class A drugs.
• Suspects arrested thanks to Crimestoppers information regarding a violent attack on group of young people where baseball bats and knives caused serious injuries including knife wounds.
• Individual stopped in his car after anonymous information we had received over weapons which led police to discover a number of knives and an imitation firearm.
• Dangerous on the run individual wanted for firearms offences and for causing serious injury found thanks to anonymous information our charity received following an appeal

Glenys Balchin, Regional Manager for Sussex and Surrey at the charity Crimestoppers, said: “With violence and gang crime being a persistent, but preventable problem, our charity is relaunching our campaign and supporting a public health approach to tackling violence. This means recognising it requires a society-wide response, so we are encouraging people across Sussex and Surrey - who are in the know about those carrying weapons or involved in violent crime - to not be silenced, but to speak up anonymously.

To report what you know about crime 100% anonymously, visit the charity’s website Crimestoppers-uk.org and fill in a simple and secure anonymous online form or call their 24/7 UK Contact Centre on freephone 0800 555 111, 365 days of the year. In an emergency, always call 999. Young people can also use our resources, find advice and use our anonymous online form at Fearless.org.