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Chicken Boxes Sent Back To Home Office With Knife Crime Solutions
21 August 2019, 16:28
Watch the video of members of the public writing their solutions to knife crime on the Government-distributed chicken boxes to send back to the Home Office to consider.
The Government recently started a campaign to distribute 300,000 chicken boxes carrying anti-knife messages in an attempt to stop young people re-offending.
Campaigners argue that instead of spending over £57,000 on the containers reading "#knifefree", the Home Office should have instead used the money to fund youth services.
Youth culture content creators Word on the Curb launched the move to encourage people to write solutions for tackling knife crime inside the chicken boxes.
🔊Announcement: We're going to be outside Stratford Westfield's tomorrow giving out Chicken Boxes to challenge the #knifefree campaign. We want you to write down your ideas for combating youth violence in these boxes for us to give to the @ukhomeoffice. See you at midday 😉
— Word on the Curb (@WordOnTheCurbUK) August 16, 2019
Since the chicken boxes campaign was launched it has been met with controversy, including by shadow home secretary Diane Abbott who said it was "crude" and "offensive".
A Home Office spokesman said its campaign is steering people "away from serious violence" by "communicating with them directly".
"Advertising in chicken shops is one element of this multimedia campaign - and was rolled out nationally following a successful pilot.
"Initial research by the media agency ACMS showed nearly 70% of chicken shop customers are aged between 16-24 - the group we need to communicate with."
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