It Doesn’t Have To Happen

In the UK, the responsibility of tackling youth knife crime rests with the Home Office. Statistics revealed that one in five vulnerable young people carried a knife, predominantly out of fear. Knife crime was high in the headlines, and stories of young people falling victim knife crime sparked headline after headline as the media started to publish, and update, their own knife crime statistics.

Research by the Home Office uncovered the prevalence of knives in urban London’s gang culture, and the importance of gangs as a peer parenting model for modern teenagers. This meant that gang culture, instead of being part of the problem, would have to be part of the solution.

The target audience represent one of the most media-savvy sections of society, which means that the message and the media used to communicate have to be carefully considered. Instead of commissioning a trendy London agency to devise messages with “youth-appeal”, the Home Office engaged young people across the country in a series of workshops about knife crime.
At the workshops, young people discussed how knife crime had affected them, and between them developed communications to try and prevent it. Over the course of a weekend they devised the brand “It Doesn’t Have to Happen”; a campaign created by young people, for young people.

“It Doesn’t Have to Happen” needed to reach a wider audience, so the brand was launched on teen social networking site Bebo. Through the platform, teens were invited to share the message with their peers, both online and offline. The brand profile acted as a forum where young people could share their stories on knife crime and learn how to tackle it in their area. The site also allowed people to become involved in campaign messaging, as they developed logos and posted online pledges that would become poster copy.

These posters appeared in long term sites in areas of the country with the highest crime rates, to take the messages to the streets that needed it. The posters were refreshed every two weeks with fresh copy generated by the Bebo platform. Radio, and online video projects made by young people also pushed the anti-knife message.

Trusted brands, such as Kiss and MTV were enlisted to provide incentive and brand promotions with stickers and postcards.

Changing such a widespread social problem is not something that can happen overnight, but the online video received 12m views, and more than 11,000 friends had joined the Bebo profile. When questioned, 73% of teenagers said they were less likely to carry a knife, and 81% said it made them more aware of the risks of carrying a knife. More significantly, there was a 17% drop in the number of violent incidents involving sharp objects and teenagers, compared to the previous year.