Government aim to educate teenagers away from crime

A new teaching resource aimed at helping educate teenagers away from crime was launched today by the Home Secretary, David Blunkett.

The Watch Over Me II video is aimed at helping young people ensure their personal safety and covers a broad range of challenging issues including domestic violence, drugs, gun crime and forced marriage.

The video has been produced by Missdorothy.com with funding from Home Office, Foreign Office and Gun Control Network and will be provided free of charge to every secondary school in England and Wales and will be distributed by the Anti-Bullying Alliance.

The Home Secretary helped launch the video at Bishop Thomas Grant School in Streatham, London, today, along with Sharon Doughty, founder of Missdorothy.com, and actors from the TV programme The Bill.

Mr Blunkett said: "Young people can be vulnerable to becoming victims of crime and to getting caught up in a life of crime. It is essential that we address these issues at an early stage and help young people make positive informed life choices.

"The new Watch Over Me video will be an invaluable resource. It tackles a range of tough personal safety issues such as drugs, gun crime and domestic violence, to get young people thinking about these difficult issues and how they deal with them. By building self esteem and helping young people see that there are choices, we can change behaviour for the better and prevent young people coming to harm."

Education and Skills Secretary Charles Clarke added: "We need to help young people to develop the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to deal with personal safety issues. 'Watch Over Me' will encourage young people to make the right choices."

The Home Office has provided £228,000 from the Domestic Violence Unit and £122,000 from the Gun Crime Unit towards the production of the second series of Watch Over Me.

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