The Bystander Effect

Find out more about what it means to be a bystander. Use what you learn to make positive choices in tricky situations...like when someone you know is carrying a knife. Discover ways to stay safe whilst taking positive action.

Resources

Present

The Bystander Effect

A bystander is a person who observes or knows about a situation, like if you see someone stealing something, or you know someone is carrying a knife. You know that the behaviour is unacceptable and could result in an injury. What would you do?

It's a difficult question to answer, as human instinct tells us to wait and see what others will do. However, that changes once we know we can become an 'active bystander'. Let's find out how...

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Act

Get involved in some activities

Change the Story

In this activity you will draw or write a storyboard of an active bystander situation. This exercise works best after seeing the knife crime.

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Wrong Place, Right Time

Using the Knife Crime Animation, we look at the role an active bystander can take.

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Zombie Run!

A game to test out the bystander effect.

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Discuss

Let's get a discussion going

5 D's Chat

A discussion about the 5 D's.

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It's Not the Norm...

To explore why some people carry knives or weapons

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Quiz

Check what you know with a quiz

A quiz about the 5 D's

Each quiz lets you answer questions as an individual or a group. When the quiz is finished, press the button to reveal the answers and see how much you've picked up. Feel free to try it more than once.

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Story

Real life from behin the knife

Jenny's Story

These real life stories explain the background, the challenges of being involved in knife crime and the hard lessons learned when trying to move on.

Click the link to read the story and interact with a video, audio track or illustration.

When Jenny stepped in

Watch

Discover more with these videos and illustrations

Knife Crime Graffiti Animation

This animation is about a group of Scottish teenagers and the consequences of knife crime. Watch how a knife affects one teen as he finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Mark's Story: One Knife. Many Victims.

Mark’s night kicks off like any other. But a split second decision he makes early on will turn his life

What are the consequences of carrying a knife?

Do you know what the consequences of carrying a knife are? For a start, one of the key facts on knife crime is that if you carry a knife you are more likely to get stabbed yourself.

What happens if your friend gets caught with a knife?

Did you know that just being present at an incident involving knife crime could be enough to earn jail time? And depending on circumstances, you could even face a murder charge in the event of a death.

What happens if you use a knife on someone?

Don't be misunderstood about knife crime and the consequences. There is no ‘safe place’ to stab someone. It's all the same, and chances are you will be going to jail, no matter the eventual outcome.

Don't Be in the Dark About Knife Crime

If you get caught up in knife crime, you’re not just going to get a slap on the wrists. It doesn’t matter if it’s for your own protection or if you are carrying a knife for someone else. Just carrying a knife can get you sent to prison for up to four years, even if you don’t use it.

What happens if you're caught with a knife?

If you get caught up in knife crime, you’re not just going to get a slap on the wrists. It doesn’t matter if it’s for your own protection or if you are carrying a knife for someone else.