Connect Winter 17

Our brand refresh revealed plus

Spotting the signs of slavery Tackling electoral fraud Fearless in Wales and much more.

Winter 2017

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Connect

Introduction

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ello and welcome to the Winter 2017 edition of Connect – revealing for the first time some of our long-awaited refreshed brand.

All organisations evolve and move with the times. Crimestoppers is no different. The world of communications is also developing at breathtaking speed. A brand is much more than just a logo. With our new, more flexible yet tailored tone of voice, a warmer logo, and brighter colour palette, we believe this will help open doors that were hitherto closed.

Mark Hallas OBE, CEO Crimestoppers

Our new look and feel will enable us to reach more people and give them the confidence to use our unique, empowering service.

We have news of February's launch of our new website which will provide a much-enhanced user experience and the new intranet for staff and volunteers called The Bubble. All of this has been made possible thanks to the essential generosity of the Cayo Foundation.

In this edition of Connect, we also have news of our national and regional campaigns including modern slavery, electoral fraud and recent collaborations with the NHS. There are updates on volunteering and our youth service Fearless.

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Finally, we have a personal perspective showing a typical day in the life of one of our national and regional managers. They all play a vital role connecting Crimestoppers with people, communities and businesses who share our vision that everyone has the right to feel safe from crime, wherever they live.

Contents

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02 Welcome from our CEO

10 Our brand refresh

03 Spotting the signs of slavery

12 New Crimestoppers website

04 Drug dealers in Lincolnshire

14 Fearless

05 Pop-up brothels

16 Thanking partners and supporters

06 The Royal Welsh Show 07 PORTSAFE campaign

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17 London Marathon runners

08 Tackling electoral fraud

18 A day in the life of a regional manager

09 New energy safety line

19 Voice of a volunteer

Published by - Crimestoppers Trust, PO Box 324, Wallington SM6 6BG / Editor - Marcus Churchill / Designer - Mike Fraser: www.iconcur.co / Print - Impress: www.impressprint.co.uk Crimestoppers is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee.

Welcome

National news

Slavery 'Spot the signs' campaign opens public’s eyes In September, we linked up with the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) to help the public ‘Spot the signs’ of slavery in a bid to tackle this growing issue.

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he GLAA is an ideal partner as it has police-style powers to investigate labour abuse and exploitation across all aspects of the UK labour market.

Modern day slavery takes a variety of forms that, whilst apparently `hidden’, often happen in public places.

Whilst anyone can become a victim of this crime, it predominantly affects vulnerable people and immigrant populations. There is a bias towards trades and industries such as car washes, nail bars and agriculture.

Crimestoppers’ statistics alone show a 126% increase in information received on slavery over a six month period. The campaign promoted the common signs of slavery and encouraged more people to report their suspicions.

Paul Broadbent, Chief Executive of the GLAA, said: “The public need to understand and be aware that modern slavery is happening right now,

in and around the communities they live in.

“Exploiting someone for their labour, forcing them to work, using people as commodities – these practices are abhorrent and we need the public’s help to stamp it out. Crimestoppers’ support is invaluable in giving people the confidence to report their concerns.”

The campaign used our social media channels, particularly Facebook and Twitter, as well as partnering with local councils and other organisations to encourage them to promote it. We also encouraged them to display posters and leaflets that could be downloaded from the Crimestoppers website at crimestoppers-uk.org/ modernslavery.

Promotion of our extensive telephone and online language translation service has enabled potentially excluded communities to contact us, even when English is not their

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first language. The Crimestoppers’ website has five foreign language microsites in Polish, Romanian, Lithuanian, Gujarati and Bengali, with more extensive information that explains how we can help with their concerns. We are looking to expand our online foreign language services further in the future.

Regional news

Violence from drug dealers prompts Lincolnshire campaign

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ur campaign strand `Drug Dealers Don’t Care, Do You?’ first ran in Northern Ireland in 2014 and has now seen further positive results after being rolled out in Lincoln and Grantham.

The two areas have seen incidents of drug-related violence. This campaign funded by Lincolnshire Police appealed for information from the public about those who might be selling drugs. A leaflet drop across the two areas took place to raise awareness of the campaign,

while targeted social media engaging relevant communities also took place.

Drug information from Lincolnshire increased by 61% during the campaign and drug trafficking reports, as opposed to drug possession or manufacturing, rose by 74% during this period.

Lydia Patsalides, Regional Manager for the East Midlands, said: “The results are really encouraging and highlights that people really do care about drug dealers in their community as much as we do.”

"Drug information from Lincolnshire increased by 61% during the campaign and drug trafficking reports rose by 74%."

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Regional news

Freeing women from pop-up brothels T

he housing of women against their will - some of whom are being abused was the motivation behind a campaign appealing for information from the public on pop-up brothels in Yorkshire and Humberside in June.

Victims are being used as sex slaves in some of the most inhumane conditions in properties that tend to be privately-rented flats or houses. These properties are often used as brothels for a short time, but can also be advertised as budget hotels or holiday homes.

Many of the women are Eastern European, Thai and Nigerian and may also be living in the property for the short period of time the brothel is running.

The campaign focused on encouraging members of the public to spot the signs of a pop-up brothel, which can include frequent visitors who are usually male and appear not to stay for long periods of time.

The campaign received positive media engagement with radio and newspaper coverage, while information received during the campaign period increased significantly.

Gemma Wilson, Yorkshire and Humber Regional Manager, said: “These brothels are dens for criminals to traffick and house vulnerable women who are then put through ordeals that no woman should have to experience.

“People who run them think they can get away with it, but this campaign helps the community to fight back.”

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A Hull of a partnership as football advertising renewed

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e’ve renewed our advertising package with Championship football team Hull City.

Kingston-upon-Hull may have been the City of Culture in 2017, but it’s around the pitch where we’re making our presence felt. For the fourth year running, Crimestoppers is advertising pitchside on the revolving LED displays and also on the large digital screens at either end of the stadium during games.

With a 25,000 seater stadium and prominent TV coverage, we’re hoping to inspire fans to keep a clean sheet by speaking up and staying safe.

Come on, you Tigers!

Regional news

The Royal Welsh Show Crimestoppers in Wales had a strong presence at The Royal Welsh Show this summer.

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he show, which is one of the largest agricultural events in Europe, saw over 200,000 visitors from all over the UK including many from the farming communities of Wales.

Regional Manager Ella Rabaiotti and Wales Committee Chair Ian Johnston attended the event to support a community safety partnership stand organised by Dyfed Powys Police.

Ella said, “It was a great opportunity to speak to so many of the public about

Crimestoppers, particularly those from rural communities.

I was able to join forces with other charities to raise awareness of a wide range of crime issues such as domestic abuse and online safety and reminded the public that they can speak up anonymously to Crimestoppers.”

In addition, Ella worked with the Dyfed Powys Police and Crime Commissioners team to promote their rural crime survey. She said, “Whilst I spoke to many people at the show about Crimestoppers, the survey

"It was a great opportunity to speak to so many of the public about Crimestoppers, particularly those from rural communities."

Nina Dawes I OBE - New Chair for the West Midlands

ntroducing Nina Dawes, our new Regional Chair for the West Midlands. Nina comes with a wealth of experience having held senior roles in local government and at a major housing association.

She was appointed

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enabled me to get an insight into particular challenges that the agricultural community can face. I spoke to an elderly farmer who lived alone and had previously been the victim of theft. He was clearly passionate about his life in farming but was fearful about a few known rogue individuals committing crime in the valleys. It was a great opportunity to explain to him that Crimestoppers may be an option for him to contact us without revealing his identity.”

Director for Community Services at Lichfield District Council in 1997, becoming Chief Executive in 2001 until she retired in 2012.

Nina was appointed an OBE for her leadership of the response and recovery after the 2007 floods in Staffordshire and for services to local government.

Regional news

Work at a Hampshire port? Stay PORTSAFE We've launched a campaign to encourage staff at Hampshire’s key ports to be on extra alert to spot criminal or potential terrorist activity.

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orkers at Southampton International Port and Portsmouth Port, along with other ports in the county, are being reminded to be on the lookout for suspicious activity, even among staff.

It's important for port staff to be vigilant and watch out for the signs of terrorism.

and other crime as it is for members of the public to do so.

We hope that PORTSAFE will act as a consistent reminder to businesses, employers and employees to pay more attention to what they see and to remember that they can report their suspicions to us anonymously.

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n June, Crimestoppers Scotland launched its annual Summer Drink Drive campaign.

Road safety is a major priority for Police Scotland given that the offence is on the rise, especially in the north of the nation.

In the year to March 2017 Crimestoppers received nearly a thousand pieces of information about drink driving, which were passed on to Police Scotland.

This represented a 21% increase on the previous year.

Although it's rare for people who are part of the workforce to be involved in criminal or terrorist activities, Crimestoppers is reminding port staff to not be complacent when it comes to observing colleagues and other on-site workers.

It's just as important for port staff to be vigilant and watch out for the signs of terrorism

Putting the brakes on Scotland’s drink drivers

PORTSAFE posters placed across all staff-side areas of local ports

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We worked closely with key partners including Police Scotland’s ‘Don’t Spoil Summer’, Road Safety Scotland, and the Scottish Best Bar None scheme that displayed campaign materials across hundreds of plasma screens in pubs, clubs and bars.

Development

Intel on electoral fraud up by nearly 150% Crimestoppers and the Electoral Commission have been working together since 2015 when we joined forces to raise public awareness and encourage people to report their suspicions.

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or the General Election on 8 June 2017 we launched a three-week campaign highlighting the tell-tale signs. These included intimidating or bribing voters, stealing postal or proxy votes, voting as someone else, tampering with ballot papers or postal ballot packs, or asking someone to reveal their marked ballot paper.

We saw a 144% increase in the number of reports into Crimestoppers from people

with concerns during the campaign, compared to the 2015 election.

A video was produced to challenge people’s perceptions of electoral fraud and highlight what checks and balances are in place to ensure the process is secure.

Social media paid-for activity comprised advertising on Facebook, Twitter and Google which led to a combined campaign reach of 1.3million.

Stills from the Crimestoppers video - Myths and Facts about Electoral Fraud

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Fighting fraud to protect NHS resources

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ll of us at some point rely on the vital medical care offered by the National Health Service. Providing quality health care is a costly business.

However, the NHS is seen as an `opportunity’ by organised criminals and some individuals to take vital funds away from frontline care.

Patients claiming free treatment that they are not entitled to, professionals invoicing for work they have not provided, as well as procurement and timesheet fraud - all of this adds up to a significant amount of money.

The NHS Counter Fraud Authority is the new body responsible for identifying, investigating and preventing fraud in the NHS. It has replaced NHS Protect.

It is estimated that fraud costs the NHS over ÂŁ1.25 billion each year. Crimestoppers is delighted to be working closely with the NHS Counter Fraud Authority, running a dedicated 24/7 helpline to report crime concerns on 0800 028 4060.

Development

Public embrace new energy safety line

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eeping people safe and increasing the number of incidents being reported were the priorities when we launched our stayenergysafe service in September 2016 – and the first 12 months have seen some very positive results.

number and website.

The service saw us partner with the energy industry to offer the public an outlet to report energy crime at stayenergysafe. co.uk, as well as through a dedicated phone number.

One case reported to us concerned a restaurant that was bypassing its meter using poor and dangerous wiring.

The energy stolen ran into tens of thousands of pounds and the premises was immediately taken off supply.

With customers frequenting the establishment, the dangerous wiring risked catastrophic consequences.

In its first year, the stayenergysafe service has received over 1,850 pieces of information relating to gas, electricity or both energy types. In addition, 450 reports were received direct through Crimestoppers’ main telephone

Roger Critchell, Director of Operations, said: “There are never any guarantees that new services are going to be instantly successful, but we have been overwhelmed

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by the response we have received from the public."

A Christmas campaign is planned to further promote the service and highlight the dangers of meter tampering as we continue to cultivate our relationship with the energy industry.

Internal news

Updating our charity with a refreshed brand Over the coming months we are rolling out our refreshed brand. It is the culmination of focus groups, detailed research, input from a steering committee and brand agency expertise.

Why a new personality?

The way we look and feel has been around for quite a while. Whilst we are a respected charity, there is still some confusion with the police. Sometimes our messaging is seen as being harsh and authoritarian, and not always having a consistent tone of voice that works well with different audiences. This is especially true where judgemental messaging risks putting off those who need us most from contacting us.

We commissioned some work with an experienced agency called The Team. They helped us understand who we are, what we do and how to communicate in a clearer way so that we can reach more people than ever. This is all about creating a brand fit for the future.

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Internal news

Research Last year over 400,000 people contacted us – so we are connecting well already.

However, our intention is to reach those who have not found us, or don’t have the confidence to contact us.

Research revealed what our audiences need from us and what our brand needs to achieve. We focused on the fact that our brand needed to do the following: • To help more people to speak up to stop crime, 100% anonymously.

• To encourage more people to support our work who share our belief that everyone has a right to feel safe from crime.

We conducted a survey to learn more about our audiences. We found that:

The big idea We’re an independent charity that gives people the power to speak up and stop crime – 100% anonymously.

We believe in the power of people to stop crime.

When people care and when people are determined, they can achieve change for their community. But people need a champion.

Someone they trust. So, we say speak up, but stay anonymous. Crimestoppers is a community champion.

We are here to listen and here to help people stop crime.

• About 20% of the public have known about a crime, but chose not to report it. This equates to potentially millions more people, or `Stoppers’ as we now call them, who could benefit from our service.

• Certain groups are less likely to talk to the police than the general public. These include black and minority ethnic communities, people who rent, disabled people and those on lower incomes.

Last year over 400,000 people contacted us – so we are connecting well already. However, our intention is to reach those who have not found us, or don’t have the confidence to contact us.

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Brand briefing We have a new visual identity, underpinned by an updated mission and values, and a more inclusive tone of voice.

Stoppers and Supporters Our new visuals will complement our clearer messaging, especially when talking to our two key groups of Stoppers and Supporters.

• For our Stoppers – those people who contact us – the brand will allow us to reach out to more people who struggle or refuse to speak to authorities, and need extra encouragement to speak up to stop crime. They need us to be really clear about our independence and our anonymity.

• And for our Supporters, we will have a new set of flexible messages. This will allow us to talk to law enforcement, companies, public bodies, and of course our valued volunteers whose back up is so crucial. We want them to join us in making our communities safer.

• And in our campaigns, we will deal with serious crime problems head on, but we will not scaremonger.

The next steps We are currently working on templates, guidelines and advice to make sure everyone understands what the refreshed brand is all about and how you can make it work for you and your communities.

Internal news

Annika Allen Digital Manager

Crimestoppers website gets a makeover The last time we did a website refresh was more than five years ago. Since then, design trends have changed, technology has advanced and more people are browsing the web on the go via smartphones and tablets.

As with your fancy mobile, if you don’t replace it, it’ll become obsolete.

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hanks to the generosity of Lord Ashcroft’s Cayo Foundation, Crimestoppers has received funding for an essential website overhaul.

This will coincide with the launch of our new brand so there has never been a better time to do this. We chat with Crimestoppers’ Digital Manager Annika Allen about this exciting project.

What prompted the most recent redesign?

We need to redevelop our website to reflect how our business is growing and to reinforce the message that we are a charity and emphasise that you can report crime anonymously. The internet has transformed itself in the past

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few years, and more people are now contacting us via our online form. We want to take advantage of the new tools and technologies available and make giving information even easier. We also need to build a site that can scale across devices and screens of all sizes. Making the site super-fast and stylish with a modern design will also increase page views and encourage people to stay browsing for longer.

Tell us about the agency working on the web project.

After a competitive tender process we moved forward with award-winning design agency Pull Digital to develop our new website. The team there consists of a dedicated

account and project manager supported by four web developers and a team of experts in brand, user experience (UX) design and digital marketing. I am project manager in-house at Crimestoppers assisted by the digital team, with sign off and support from senior management. The process also includes input from a steering group of staff and volunteers from across the charity and country.

What are the most important considerations in designing the site?

Page load-time was one of our most important considerations.

If pages aren’t fast enough, not only will you lose visitors (nobody has patience) but Google penalises you. They also rank your site higher if it is mobile-responsive, so improving it for our mobile-first world is a must.

We also want to transform the online donation process to increase individual and regular giving, as well as highlight our

Internal news

Welcome to The Bubble!

Crimestoppers has worked with intranet software company Interact to launch our new employee engagement platform The Bubble.

Accessed only by staff and volunteers, our vision is for The Bubble to be the first port of call to find the latest Crimestoppers news, access forms and policies, source standard artwork templates for our many campaigns and have a bit of fun.

Find documents easily Vital business policies and documents that cover everything from expense claims, annual leave and employee handbooks to IT procedures are all available on The Bubble.

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corporate services with new content and prime placement on the home page navigation.

We are completely focused on people, understanding their needs and their motivation to give us information on a crime or to support our commercial objectives.

"We need to redevelop our website to reflect how our business is growing and to reinforce the message that we are a charity."

Will the content on the new website change?

Absolutely. Content is king and when it’s good, readers will pause to consume, maybe even comment, like or share.

Our new site will be flexible enough to handle more content and in varying styles.

We have begun the writing process and are producing content to challenge our audience to think and inspire them to act.

Instant access to contact details It contains a full directory of staff and volunteers along with their picture, email and phone number.

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Learn about your colleagues Staff and volunteers at our charity are very talented. The Bubble allows you to write your own bio and list your specialist skills. Find out who speaks fluent Greek, writes poetry, designs clothes and who is a qualified nutritionist!

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Know what’s happening

Whether it’s a campaign launch, praising a volunteer or publishing pictures from an event - you can post news and updates for all to read.

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Reduce emails you send and receive The Bubble can dramatically reduce the volume of internal emails as you won't need to ask others for documents or information because you can find it on the intranet. If you’re not sure where it is, the intranet has a powerful search function.

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Get social With a social calendar, a buy-and-sell forum and the ability to follow various people, as with Twitter and Instagram, we are delighted that our new intranet is now becoming the go-to zone for staff and volunteers.

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Fearless

Fearless will now be available in Welsh for the first time.

Reaching out to young Welsh speakers Since the appointment of a manager for Wales, we have been working hard to ensure more young people than ever know about and are able to access our Fearless service. Our youth brand’s website now includes a Welsh tab – enabling for the first time Welsh-speaking young people to give information 100% anonymously. They will also be able to access our A to Z or ‘A I Y’ of crime, providing non-judgemental information about different crimes that might affect them.

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ith Fearless being promoted via the

Council for Wales Youth Voluntary Services, we have seen an increase in partnership referrals and a positive appetite for what we have to offer.

Our Wales Cymru committee

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has also successfully won the Percy Hoskins Award, enabling further opportunities through working with the Schoolbeat programme to show young people their options when it comes to staying safe.

Additional funding from Police and Crime Commissioners who

are keen to help reinforce the project locally will have a major impact. Over the next couple of months we are creating our first Fearless Film available in Welsh and English.

It will be premiered to local partners at our first-ever Welsh Fearless Launch.

Fearless

Ymestyn allan i siaradwyr ifanc y Gymraeg Ers penodi rheolwr i Gymru, rydym wedi bod yn gweithio'n galed i sicrhau bod mwy o bobl ifanc nag erioed yn gwybod am wasanaeth Fearless ac yn gallu cael mynediad at y gwasanaeth. Mae gwefan ein brand ieuenctid bellach yn cynnwys tab Cymraeg gan alluogi pobl ifanc sy'n medru'r Gymraeg i roi gwybodaeth 100% yn ddienw am y tro cyntaf. Byddant hefyd yn gallu cael mynediad at ein A i Y o drosedd, sy'n darparu gwybodaeth ddiduedd am wahanol droseddau y gallai effeithio arnynt.

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yda Fearless yn cael ei hyrwyddo trwy Gyngor Cymreig y Gwasanaethau Ieuenctid Gwirfoddol, rydym wedi gweld cynnydd mewn atgyfeiriadau partneriaeth ac awydd positif ar gyfer y gwasanaethau rydym yn eu cynnig.

Roedd ein pwyllgor Wales Cymru hefyd yn llwyddiannus yn ennill Gwobr Percy Hoskins, gan alluogi cyfleoedd pellach trwy weithio gyda rhaglen Schoolbeat i ddangos i bobl

A Fearless Farewell O ur volunteer in Essex, Emily Larkin, has been successfully recruited by Essex Police. A great loss to us, as Emily was a

ifanc yr opsiynau sydd ar gael iddynt o ran aros yn ddiogel.

Daw ariannu ychwanegol o'r Comisiynwyr Heddlu a Throseddu sy'n awyddus i helpu cryfhau'r prosiect yn lleol a bydd yn cael effaith fawr. Dros yr ychydig fisoedd nesaf, byddwn yn creu ein Ffilm Fearless gyntaf a fydd ar gael yn Gymraeg ac yn Saesneg. Bydd yn cael ei lansio i bartneriaid lleol yn ein lansiad cyntaf erioed ar gyfer Fearless yn Gymraeg yn yr hydref.

real talent. She embodied a real hands-on approach, and used her enthusiasm and passion to support Fearless by regularly working directly with young people across the county.

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We have valued her support and wish her every success.

Students from Dunlance School, Bushmills, Northern Ireland

Fearless on tour

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ur youth service Fearless has been featured in an educational theatre tour running across Northern Ireland. Last Orders is a play performed by Solomon Theatre and highlighted risks associated with alcohol. It also explored the impact this can have on young people’s awareness and understanding of sexual consent.

The young actors followed a realistic storyline around `drinking games’, the stages of intoxication and how this can lead to poor decisions being made that can have lifelong consequences.

After the performance, the students took part in a workshop which explored themes from the play and offered useful advice, such as encouraging young people to access our Fearless service.

More than 1,300 pupils from a dozen high schools have benefited from this interactive educational programme.

Events and fundraising

Thanking our partners and supporters O

ne hundred guests representing law enforcement, government departments and agencies and business attended the Crimestoppers Annual Dinner, which was sponsored by Kelly Group. The speakers were Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC, founder and Chair of Crimestoppers, and Barry and Margaret Mizen, who started the charity For Jimmy after their son was murdered.

Lord Ashcroft told the guests that the amount of information we sent to police is up by more than 25% compared to the previous year.

“We have taken about 400,000

pieces of information, and over 136,000 of them have been carefully disseminated to police forces and other law enforcement agencies,” he said.

“This has resulted in nearly 3,600 arrested and charged and 15,000 positive outcomes.”

The charity For Jimmy was set up by the Mizen family after the murder of their son Jimmy who was just 16 years old. It works with young people, schools, businesses and communities to create the safest spaces for young people to grow up in, driving change across three levels: inspiring individual responsibility; connecting

communities and building safe places to turn to.

The Mizens asked ‘do we need more and more legislation, or do we need to ask ourselves about the kind of society we want to live in? Change has to come from each of us. Let’s try and stop it together.’

Later in the year, Crimestoppers was among the charities benefiting from the CSARN Salute at the Honourable Artillery Company in the City of London. Crimestoppers staff hosted business partners raising funds in excess of £10k for our charity.

Margaret Mizen speaking at our Annual Dinner 2017

The charity For Jimmy works with young people, schools and communities to create the safest spaces for young people to grow up in.

CSARN fundraising event was held at the stunning Armoury House in the City of London

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Events and fundraising

2018 London marathon

Our very own Chief Exec joins London Marathon runners

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ven in a calendar as remarkable as that of our capital, the London Marathon is a day like no other. More than 30,000 runners ranging from Olympic champions to amateurs raising money for charities such as ours come together in a city that for once is traffic free to battle through more than 26 miles to the finish line.

It is a hugely important day for Crimestoppers. Our runners bring in much needed funds, raise the profile of the charity and show how much our work means to them. We have had runners dressed as Supergirl, others celebrating losing huge amounts of weight, some who were serving police officers and others who want to help us to help people fight crime. Last year nearly £50k was raised for Crimestoppers by 32 runners.

This year our group of about 40 runners will include our very own Chief Executive, Mark Hallas OBE. He is running his

first marathon at the age of 53 and ticking off an item on his bucket list.

“Having been a keen runner in my youth and run half marathons and ten milers, I have always wanted to run a full marathon,” he said. “I thought I would do it in my 30s and then my 40s but it has turned out to be when I am 53.

I hope that I will inspire friends and colleagues to put their hands in their pockets.”

If you didn’t manage to secure a place in the ballot, you can

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apply for a Crimestoppers’ charity place (Golden Bond) in the 2018 London Marathon.

We ask for a £100 deposit and a pledge to raise £1600.

If you have secured your own place in the 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon you can still run and fundraise for us. Contact the events team via email events@crimestoppers-uk.org to apply for your place today – please include a couple of lines on why you are interested in running for Crimestoppers.

A day in the life

On the frontline in the nations and regions Our managers in the field play a vital role, liaising with key stakeholders and co-ordinating our work. Angela Parker, National Manager for Scotland, maps out a typical day in her own words…

Angela Parker receiving a £500 cheque for Scotland Crimestoppers

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joined Crimestoppers as National Manager for Scotland in June 2014 and since then it’s been a whirlwind of learning, meetings, presentations and the chance to see the most stunning parts of Scotland.

There’s no typical day but I try and plan my weeks in advance.

Usually I’ll get up and check emails – Hunter’s police news stories ping in at 6am to all staff and I respond to enquiries, check the news, then set off to our small office based at Maryhill police station in the north of Glasgow. Maryhill was the setting for Scots police crime drama, Taggart.

I often hold meetings there as it’s a great way to stay connected to Police Scotland and work alongside Amanda West, our admin and finance officer known locally as the Leaflet Lady!

Making connections Often there are meetings or presentations to give or attend. In Scotland, we are supported by Scottish Government’s Building Safer Communities Programme, so I regularly keep their team there up-to-date with progress.

Although I’m essentially looking after a country, much of my work is concentrated across the central belt of Scotland. I’m lucky to be supported by three active

Amanda West - 'Leaflet Lady' at Cyber Crime Livingston

committees in the north, west and east and our volunteers’ enthusiasm and motivation keeps me going.

No time for grazing I’ll speak with my other regional colleagues regularly to bounce ideas around and liaise with head office to discuss upcoming campaigns such as last year’s that focused on rural crime. I’ll never forget being knee-deep in mud, spray painting sheep with our 0800 555 111 telephone number! That moment made me realise this job is truly unpredictable and as varied as the Scottish landscape.

In the evening I’ll try sharing news, updates and making important connections across social media. Bedtime is 10.30pm and I’ll catch up on a Netflix box set - just not a crime one!

"I’m lucky to be supported by three active committees in the north, west and east and our volunteers’ enthusiasm and motivation keeps me going."

Volunteer voice Being exposed to drugs and corruption in your home town isn't pleasant for anyone, but recent Crimestoppers volunteer Nina Boneva wanted to turn that negative experience into a positive

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ina, who moved to the UK from Bulgaria nearly four years ago to study Criminology at the University of Greenwich, has just finished a six-month stay with the charity, working across numerous teams on various projects.

It was a presentation at the University by Volunteer Manager Greg Rees which prompted Nina to do some more research into the charity.

"As a Criminology student, I wanted to develop my skills and get inside the work of the charity,” she said.

“I was exposed to different crimes back home in Bulgaria and was also a victim of bullying, so I have always wanted to do something positive around crime issues. Volunteering really helped with my research and administration skills. I also enjoyed working with the fundraising team, Fearless and the media team.”

As well as supporting the charity through her voluntary work, Nina has taken the daring decision to run the London Marathon in April alongside Chief Executive Mark Hallas which coincides with the 30th anniversary of the charity.

“Last year, I was at the Crimestoppers cheer point and I loved the atmosphere, so I'm looking forward to running next year.

I'd love to beat the Chief Executive,' she smiles `but we'll see what happens.”

19 / www.crimestoppers-uk.org 0800 555 111

Photo credit: Pukaar News

Volunteering update

Romail Gulzar at House of Lords

Volunteer receives Pride of India Award

L

eicestershire Committee Chairman Romail Gulzar has been awarded a Pride of India Award for his work within the local community.

Romail, who has been an active volunteer for over five years and Chair of the Leicestershire Committee since April 2015, has been busy promoting Crimestoppers during his time as a volunteer, including organising events to benefited the charity.

Of particularly note was the popular Leicester’s Got Talent, which brought together members of communities between the ages of 8-25 from across the city to showcase skills including poetry, dancing and singing.

Romail received his award at the House of Lords in September from the NRI Institute, which is a non-profit organisation that aims to connect non-resident Indians across the globe and provides a platform for those living in India as well as abroad.

Crimestoppers would like to congratulate Romail once again on his award.

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crimestoppers-uk.org 20 / Connect Winter 2017