Frequently Asked Questions - FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Click on the links below to read the answers to our FAQs.
About Fearless
Anonymous means that your identity is completely unknown.
Fearless is the dedicated youth service from independent charity Crimestoppers, it provides young people with the opportunity to give information about crime 100% anonymously.
Fearless empowers young people to speak up about crime by
- Promoting our unique service to speak up about crime 100% anonymously
- Raising awareness of what constitutes a crime
- Breaking down the barriers to reporting crime
We have a team of Fearless Outreach Workers who visit schools, youth clubs and sporting events to inform young people and professionals of our service. We also create engaging content on our social media channels to raise awareness and break down these barriers.
We know young people want to speak up about crime and make their communities safer, but we also understand that there are many reasons why young people may not want to report a crime.
Being a labelled a snitch is one of these reasons, however there are many more including fear of repercussions, not wanting to talk to the police, not wanting to be involved and many others. This is where Fearless can help, providing young people with a safe space to give information about crime 100% anonymously. You will not need to speak to the police, you will not need to go to court and no one will know you have given information.
Information that Fearless and Crimestoppers receive has helped to solve many crimes. Any information you can give us may help. It may seem like something small, but it may be the final piece of information the police need to be able to take action.
Fearless is part of the independent charity Crimestoppers. Fearless is aimed at 11-18 year olds, providing an opportunity to give information about crime 100% anonymously, an Outreach Service and dedicated social media channels.
About the information
To keep your friends, family and community safe. If crimes go unreported, they may continue to happen.
If you have information about a crime, you could make a real difference by passing it on. Information that comes through to Fearless and Crimestoppers has helped to solve many crimes. Any information you can give us may help. It may seem like something small, but it may be the final piece of information the police need to be able to take action.
You can give information on any crime to Fearless but there are some things we are unable to take information on. Please see our What you can tell us page for more information.
Our trained Contact Centre agents will carefully consider the best and most secure way to pass on your information without revealing your identity or giving any information that may lead back to you. Sometimes this can mean that for your own safety we may leave out some of the information you provide, leaving the authorities with enough to look into and potentially investigate.
We understand the word snitching carries a lot of negativity and that young people don’t want to be called a snitch or to be known as a grass. It is important to understand there is a difference between snitching and reporting a crime:
The easiest way to remember this is:
Snitching is getting someone in trouble and reporting is getting someone out of trouble.
No. We are not the police. We are a charity. You will not be contacted by the police after passing information on to Fearless as the police have no way of knowing who the information has come from.
No, you will not have to go to court. The information you give us is 100% anonymous. There is no way of us knowing who the information has come from, so the police and courts will not be able to contact you.
As Fearless is 100% anonymous, we are unable to take reports from victims of crime.
If you feel like you’ve been a victim of crime, it’s really important that you speak to a trusted adult, police or a support service who can offer advice and guidance.
Please see our Youth Support Services page for a list of organisations who may be able to offer help.
How it works - the tech stuff
We guarantee:
- You will not be asked to reveal your name or any personal details.
- Your call will not be recorded.
- We have no caller line display, no 1471 facility and cannot trace a call.
- Calls to Crimestoppers are free from all phones, landline or mobile, and will not show up on your bill.
- Our specially trained call agents will support you through the process and make sure your report contains no information that could identify you.
- We do not make a note of gender, accents, apparent age or ethnicity of any caller.
- When you report via our online form, you can do so safe in the knowledge that your device’s IP addresses are overwritten, masked and can never be traced.
Each and every form is read by one of our trained Call Agents and anything that could possibly link back to you or identify you is removed before our report is sent on to the police/relevant authority.
Please visit our Anonymity promise page where we explain this.
Your original online form submission will be deleted within hours of us sending a report of your information. The Fearless report which has no link to you will be kept on our secure database in accordance with our privacy policy.
After receiving your completed form or finishing your call, we create a report, ensuring it doesn't contain any info that could identify you, and your report is then sent on securely to the relevant authority with the legal responsibility to review the information.
No, as the information you provide is 100% anonymous we have no way of contacting you and there is no way of linking you to the information that may have helped with the arrest.
There could be many reasons for this:
- the information may be crucial to a larger investigation where action may take place later on
- the information we send to the police may remain on their files which helps to solve crime at a later date, or
- more information may be required before action can be taken
- the consequence of any action is not visible in the community
Get involved
As a youth service, the voices and opinions of young people are really important to us. Fearless has a youth panel – Focus on Fearless. The Youth Panel meets virtually bi monthly to discuss various aspects of our service, including emerging crime trends and upcoming social media campaigns, and provide insight into the concerns young people have on crime in their community.
We recruit to our Youth Panel each year in March/April, so keep your eyes peeled on our social media platforms for more info.
If you are interested in volunteering, please check out the Crimestoppers Volunteering page. We have a number of exciting opportunities volunteering for Crimestoppers available throughout the UK.
Anonymity
Fearless is a service that allows you to pass on information about crime 100% anonymously. Anonymous means your identity is completely unknown.
Give information anonymously
Report a crime 100% anonymously by completing our online form or calling 0800 555 111
Youth support services
Access a selection of youth organisations who can offer further information, advice and support for whatever you're dealing with.