EVERY school in East Renfrewshire is to be equipped with posters aiming to steer youngsters away from knife crime.

Fearless – the youth service of charity Crimestoppers – has teamed up with the No Lives Better Lives campaign to provide every high school in the area with resources to inform pupils about the facts around knife carrying.

The youth charity has stopped using images of knives in Scotland, opting instead for No Knives Better Lives (NKBL) images which have been co-designed by young people with experience of offending.

Lyndsay McDade, senior youth projects officer at Crimestoppers, said: “In the past, we’ve used images of knives to make our message standout and to highlight the stark consequences of knife carrying but, through talking to young people and listening to advice from partners, we’ve learnt that increasing fear can inadvertently increase the risk of young people carrying a knife.

“By producing a campaign that does not use sensationalised images, we hope that young people will be more reassured that carrying a knife should not be considered as the ‘norm’ – thus encouraging prevention whilst also encouraging reporting for those too afraid to speak up.”

NKBL’s ‘Taking Stock’ drive – a collection of images on knife crime – was launched in March as part of an effort to reduce the use of graphic and sensationalised images in the media.

Knife crime and overall violence have dropped significantly in Scotland over the past 10 years.

Orielle Taylor, national co-ordinator for No Knives Better Lives, said: “In 2009, the creation of No Knives, Better Lives was a response to the very high incidence of knife crime in Scotland.

“This position has changed dramatically.”


Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf added: “I’m delighted to see Fearless and No Knives Better Lives coming together.”