A computer game launched by Crucial Crew Interactive will be targeting primary school kids throughout the UK in an attempt to stop children from getting involved in gangs, knife crime and gun crime.
The hard-hitting game will be used to show young people when they are being ”groomed” to join a gang, and what the consequences can be – whether it’s getting shot, arrested, or beaten up. In one scene the young brother of the main character ends up in intensive care, following a revenge attack after an accidental shooting.
The game was developed by York Multimedia, the publisher of the Crucial Crew series of interactive games, working with police-led groups associated with gangs and urban violence.
"We think this will make a massive difference," said PC Joe Warburton, one of the contributors, who worked on the game on behalf of the Manchester Multi-Agency Gangs Strategy group. "This new game is an effective and safe way for children to explore the dangers of getting involved with gangs, but without getting hurt.
"My remit is to target children before they get involved. Many of them will have been to a park and seen older children with guns or knives and think it’s OK to hang around with them. This game shows them what that can lead to, and enables us and teachers to directly deal with the issues which arise."
The response so far from schools which have trialed the new game has been "excellent", said Joe. "They’ve said they’ve been waiting for a resource like this for a long time."
This new gangs is the 13th in the Crucial Crew Interactive series. The games are used throughout the UK in classrooms and by children at home to teach life-saving safety messages through the medium of fun-to-play computer games. Other topics addressed to date include cycle safety, electricity safety, seaside safety, and railways. The general format is of a cartoon-animation which sets the scene, and the invites the player to make a choice – such as whether to accept a gun being offered for protection, or not. Depending on the choice made, the animation plays out the consequences. Sometimes funny, sometimes shocking, the games don’t hold their punches in showing what can really happen if you make the wrong decision.
James Houston of CCI said: "We’re really pleased that our Crucial Crew series of games is being extended to cover this important area. We know that Crucial Crew helps keep children safe throughout Britain, and hopefully soon it will be keeping inner city kids away from gangs and out of trouble too."
PC Joe Warburton added: "As a police officer, over the years I”ve become well aware of the importance of Crucial Crew, and how effective it is for our target audience. It”s a great way of getting children to explore dangers, but in a safe manner."
As well as guns, the game deals with issues surrounding alcohol, drugs (both taking and dealing) running errands, knives, territory, peer pressure, and police response.
The game is being rolled out nationally and will be specifically targeted at children in cities where gang violence and crime proliferates. It will be distributed directly to schools on CD – initially in the north-east and north-west of England, and is available here on the Crucial Crew website at www.crucial-crew.org/gangs
