Surrey dad urges young people to report those who carry knives
Martin Cosser says deaths like his son Charlie's should have been prevented
A Surrey dad who lost his son to knife crime says young people need to report knife carriers
Fearless - a service which allows people to make anonymous reports - has launched a new campaign, as it reveals less than a third of 16 to 25-year-olds would be likely to share information if they knew somebody had a knife on them
It's being backed by Martin Cosser, who tells us his son Charlie's life could so easily have been saved
"In the months, days, weeks leading up to Charlie's murder, that if somebody had reported, may well have been an, well, there would have been an early intervention and there's such a high chance that our little boy would still be alive today."
The data from YouGov shows people are hesitant to reach out to report someone regarding knife crime
- Just 31% of 16 to 25-year-olds say they would be very likely to share information with the police if they knew somebody was carrying a knife and believed it could lead to someone being seriously injured or killed.
- For adults, this rises to 45%.
- Young people across the UK are also less likely to recognise when their information could be important. 23% say uncertainty about whether their information is significant enough might stop them speaking to the police.
- 16% of young people say not knowing how to give their information could prevent them from sharing information
- But anonymity could make a significant difference. While 31% of young people say they would be very likely to report information about knife crime directly to the police, this rises to 51% when they are offered an anonymous way to speak up
However Martin adds that it's not at all a human nature problem
"This message is for everyone and everyone has a part to play when it comes to knife crime. Fearless did a survey recently, it's reported that 96% of young people if they knew how, they would report a knife carrier anonymously.
That's the caveat, if they knew how. Well, they do now know how to do that. They do it online at fearless.org"
Since Charlie's death at a house party in West Sussex in 2023, Martin and his wife Tara set up the charity Charlie’s Promise, which is dedicated to helping the fight against the rising issue of knife crime in Surrey and across the UK
Martin travels across the country giving talks to school children about his son's story and the impact knife crime has on so many lives
"I'm looking at the picture of Charlie on the day that he got picked up by Brentford. All of these memories, but memories that are short lived, his short life was stolen from him because somebody picked up a knife.
Please be the difference. Please reach out to Fearless and do the right thing."