RESOURCES

How you can get involved

We’re trying to get young people talking about knife crime. If you work with young people then we need your help to get conversations started.

This can be done however you want. Whether it’s a group discussion, a group activity or a one-to-one chat, the important thing is that we get the facts out there and take a fresh look at knives.

The aim is to get young people thinking about the dangers of carrying a knife and get involved in different activities instead.

You can find all the material and contacts you need in the Resources section below.

Resources

We’ve developed a range of resources to help you discuss knife crime with young people. 

ON A KNIFE EDGE
‘On a Knife Edge’ is a new educational support pack for the No Knives, Better Lives campaign designed to help young people consider the issues surrounding knife crime in Scotland. 

Designed to consider the dangers and devastating consequences of knife crime for individuals, families and the wider community, this challenging and eye opening programme aims to educate and encourage young people to reflect on the reasons for carrying a knife, the legal consequences as well as the physical and emotional consequences of knife crime. Download the schools pack here.

Youth Worker Briefing Sheet

This straightforward briefing is designed to help you deliver messages about No Knives, Better Lives. It contains some discussion points and a guide on how to use the No Knives, Better Lives resources as prompts or handouts. Download it here.

noknivesbetterlives.com
This website gives young people interactive ways to learn the facts about knives. They can watch films, have their say and join our growing community of people who’ve made a stand against knife crime.

Sharp Solutions – Youthwork Resource Pack
YouthLink Scotland have developed a special toolkit for youth workers on how to handle the issues of violence and knife crime with young people through a specially developed pack of practical activities. Download your copy here.

Short films

We’ve produced two short films about the dangers of carrying a knife.

Embalmer: An embalmer’s view of a knife crime victim.
Paramedic: A paramedic’s view of a knife crime victim.

They’re available here so you’ll need a computer to play them on.

Lexi Lyall film
A short film featuring Lexi Lyall, the mother of William Lyall, who was tragically stabbed to death in 2003. She tells the story of how William’s murder has affected her life.

A hard copy of this moving film can be obtained on request by contacting nkblresources@stripecom.co.uk.

Educational Time-Outs

These are best used to stimulate a group discussion, perhaps during a ‘timeout’ in sports or other activity.

Knife crime fast facts
The ‘Risks’ section of this website gives you the key facts around knife crime so you can share and discuss them with young people.

Knife crime scratch cards
These scratch cards are easy to hand out in-between activities. They show the chances you take if you carry a knife. Get the group to play the scratch cards together and encourage them to discuss the results. These are handy if you don’t have a lot of time with each person and need a quick way to grab their attention.

The Wheel of Misfortune
Encourage young people to ‘choose life over a knife’ with this specially designed game. It gives you an interactive way to talk about the consequences of knife crime, as well as the positive aspects of not getting involved with knives.

Posters
Simple campaign posters tell the stories following knife crimes. They show that every crime has many victims by showing the effects on the knife user and also their families and friends. These can be put up around schools and community centres to reinforce the message that carrying a knife isn’t worth the risk.

Customisable Posters
Campaign posters that you can customise with your own branding. They can then be used as support for any knife crime activities. Instructions are included.

Click here to download the posters.

Click here to download the usage guide.

Event Posters

Campaign posters you can print off and customise with details of events going on in your area

Click here to download the posters.

Logo Guidelines

These guidelines have been designed to help you apply our identity to any of your materials coherently and consistently.

Click here to download the guidelines.

Branded items

A number of branded No Knives, Better Lives items have been produced to help engage young people in the campaign. The branded items help raise awareness and can be used to prompt discussion.

If you are based in one of the No Knives Better Lives communities and would like to request any of the above educational time-out and branded item resources please contact otaylor@youthlinkscotland.org

Any concerns?

If any young people have concerns about knife crime or would like more information or advice, you can put them in touch with:

Crimestoppers
An independent UK-wide charity working to stop crime. Crimestoppers provides an ‘anonymous' hotline for people who wish to provide information about crime or criminals without fear of retribution or exposure. All you need to do is call 0800 555 111.

ChildLine
The UK’s free, confidential helpline for children and young people. Trained volunteers are on hand to provide advice and support, by phone and online, 24 hours a day. Children can talk to ChildLine in confidence on 0800 11 11 or via the website at www.childline.org.uk.