Text service asks children to report fellow pupils who they believe may be carrying a knife
Schoolchildren in Lancashire are being asked to use an anonymous text messaging service to report classmates who they believe are carrying a knife.
The tackling knives action programme, which has been running in London since last summer, asks for the name or nickname of the pupil suspected of carrying a knife, as well as their school year and the school's postcode.
It uses secure specialised software to ensure text messages cannot be traced.
The service was extended to Lancashire after the county was identified as one of 10 knife crime 'hotspots' by the Home Office.
Superintendent Richard Spedding, Lancashire Police's knife crime co-ordinator, said: "We are pleased to be able to take advantage of this scheme.
"One of the key aspects of this scheme is that young people are now able to pass on information anonymously to Crimestoppers, which in turn is passed on to us.”
The number that children use is being given out in schools in Lancashire, and the service will be extended to other parts of the country later this year.
