Streetviolence.org gives a voice to silent witnesses

Brockley Central's dad has been fending off the dying of the light by playing tennis and helping with the development and launch of a new site which aims to make it easier for witnesses of street crime to come forward. The campaign says:

Streetviolence.org is a new website, run by charity Witness Confident, to help cut violent crime. The site allows victims of street robberies and attacks to report to the police online, post witness appeals and warn their local community by pinpointing the crime on a Google map.

People who witnessed the incident and are able to help can then get in touch with the right police team at the click of a button. By guaranteeing a secure, private channel of communication between victims or witnesses and the police, the charity hopes Streetviolence.org will galvanise more people to help the police keep our communities safe.

Early indications suggest the public are keen to help reduce street violence and will welcome this independent community service that allows them to contact the police 24/7 from the convenience of their home or workplace.

The site also aims to cut the fear street violence often causes as it will provide accurate information about the circumstances of the incident and those involved. For example, this means people can see if the attacker was a stranger or if the incident occurred at 4am or at 4pm, so helping them judge whether it raises any real concern for them or their family.

Witness Confident - which is funded by the Nuffield, Allen Lane and Wates Foundations - will operate the service across London free of charge for a year. Guy Dehn, director of Witness Confident, says:

“As a way of telling the police you can help, the site is a welcome alternative to hanging behind at the scene, standing around at a police station or waiting in line at a call centre. This matters as there’s little chance the police can make our streets safer if witnesses don’t come forward.”