Trident is launching a powerful advertising campaign today targeting 13 to 19 year olds in a bid to dissuade them from becoming the gunmen of the future.
The campaign features radio and TV ads produced from real prisoners views to bring the message home: “Don’t blow your life away”.
Researchers visited prisons and spoke with prisoners to get a real perspective on what they were missing out on most as they served their prison sentences. This campaign was created from those conversations with Category A murderers and those serving sentences for attempted murder, robbery and possession of a firearm, and asks young people to think about the things they would miss out on if they ended up in prison after committing a crime with guns.
The campaign TV and radio ads will appear in targeted media and a replica of a prison cell will be toured around venues in the five boroughs of London where gun crime is most prevalent within black communities. The prison cell will enable young people to get a real perspective on what it would be like to be in a prison cell, challenging them to think about all the things they will leave behind if they end up in prison.
The campaign will run for four weeks and has been planned in consultation with the Trident Independent Advisory Group, which plays a vital role in helping Trident combat gun crime within the Capital’s black communities.
Lee Jasper, the chairman of the Trident Independent Advisory Group, said:
“Too many of our youngsters have lost their lives as a result of terrible acts of mindless violence.
“This Trident campaign drives home the point that those who are convicted of gun crime could be facing a lifetime of living locked up in a box. That’s locked up in jail while life goes on outside without you.
“The consequences for you, your family and your friends are not worth thinking about. The message from London’s black communities is clear and simple we say ‘ Stop the Violence ‘.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Helen Ball, the head of Trident, said:
“We have designed this year’s campaign to encourage young people to think about what really matters to them and what they would not be able to do, or have, if they ended up in a prison cell. We spoke to real prisoners, serving long sentences for gun crime, who expressed regret and frustration at not being able to be with their families or friends. We want young people to stop and think before choosing to become the gunmen of the future.
“Trident is concerned that people are starting to carry guns from an increasingly young age. That is why this campaign is aimed at 13 to 19 year olds in London, especially those living in gun crime hotspots.”
Trident ad campaigns are just one of the ways that Trident reaches young people. The Trident crime prevention team works with schools, colleges, Youth Offending Teams and other partners and since April 2007 have spoken with over 5000 young people.
Anyone with information about gun crime should contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111. Crimestoppers is an independent service that guarantees anonymity.
For more information about Trident or to download images and radio advertisements from this year’s Trident campaign, as please go to:
