THE youth service of Crimestoppers is hosting free virtual workshops for people working with youths in Swindon and Wiltshire to help tackle crimes like county lines

The Fearless.org charity educates young people on how to keep themselves and others safe from crime, trains them to educate other young people to make informed decisions, and provides an anonymous way to report crime.

These virtual workshops are being funded by the Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson, supported by Wiltshire Police and facilitated by Fearless.org.

Crimestoppers regional manager Emily van der Lely said: “These workshops are for all youth professionals, from school teachers to outreach workers. Each session will explain what Fearless.org is, what resources we have to support them and young people and what youth exploitation across both Swindon and Wiltshire looks like.

“Due to the Covid-19 restrictions, we have moved the sessions to an online platform. Each workshop will give an overview of youth crime and force statistics relevant to a particular geographical area, so course participants are encouraged to book onto a workshop target location most relevant to them. Additionally, the Fearless.org participant pack will now be made available for collection from the relevant police station.”

Wiltshire Police's head of improvement and change Sonja Leith said: “County lines and the associated exploitation of young people is happening within our towns and across our communities, so I am really pleased that together with the Police and Crime Commissioner, and in collaboration with Fearless we are able to offer our partners and colleagues the opportunity to improve their awareness and understanding through a series of workshops.

“In our fight against county lines it’s important that we recognise that it does occur locally, and the content and discussions in the workshops will reflect this. Attendees will also come away with Fearless resources to support them in raising awareness of the risks and harm of county lines when working with young people.

“We hope that by bringing partners together for this workshop, we will increase confidence in our communities to identify vulnerability, support young people to report crime and take action to disrupt the county line networks.”

Book a place at fearlessagainstcrime.eventbrite.co.uk