Hitch Marketing has created a new campaign to encourage young people in Greater Manchester to steer clear of violence.
Commissioned by the city’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), the “Violence isn’t me… I’m greater” campaign is aimed at 10-17-year-olds.
It was produced following a series of workshops, focus groups and surveys with young people, to find out what was important to them in life.
“We want to stop violence from happening in the first place, but to also provide support to those who may already be involved in violence – it’s never too late to make a positive change,” said Bev Hughes, Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester for Policing, Crime, Criminal Justice and Fire.
“Importantly, by involving young people in shaping this campaign from the start, their values, aspirations, and what is important to them is front and centre.”
Led by Greater Manchester’s Violence Reduction Unit, it brings together Greater Manchester Police (GMP), Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), the National Probation Service as well as health, education and youth justice services and the VCSE sector to address the underlying causes of violent crime and to work together to prevent it.
It follows the publication of Greater Manchester’s Serious Violence Plan in June 2020, which highlighted that from 2015 to 2018, knife crime in the city-region almost doubled.
The campaign is launching in 3 phases, the first is the “iamgreater” website and digital advertising.
