The north star

Putting an end to knife crime

Services

Sectors

Client

South Wales Police & Violence Prevention Unit

Project Name

#NotTheOne

Credits

Dan Sargent, a man with short curly brown hair and a goatee, smiles whilst standing indoors in a plain white long-sleeved shirt. Flowers and large windows brighten the background.

A smiling woman with long brown hair and tattoos on her arms stands indoors, wearing an orange dress. Amy Garrett-Williams holds her hands together and appears to be enjoying a conversation.

Kirsty Bowen, with long, wavy blonde hair, wears a light blue and white striped blouse with lace details as she stands indoors, smiling at the camera. Plants and glass walls create a fresh backdrop behind her.

Paul Dean, wearing glasses and a maroon t-shirt, stands indoors with his arms folded, smiling at the camera. There are plants and a window with natural light in the background.

Jamie Green, a man with short hair and glasses, wearing a blue and white chequered shirt, stands smiling in a brightly lit room with plants and shelves in the background.

A person with short light brown hair and glasses, wearing a brown jacket over a black shirt, smiling whilst standing indoors in front of a glass wall and some plants.

A smiling young man with glasses and a beard wears a dark green Seaszn 19 baseball jersey. He stands indoors in a bright room with glass walls, plants, and a blue chair in the background.

A close-up of a person's eye reveals detailed skin texture and eyelashes. To the left, #NotTheOne is boldly displayed on a white background, emphasising the message.

The challenge

Knife crime devastates families and communities across the UK. In the year leading to March 2022, 282 lives were lost to knife violence – the highest number in over 70 years. Among them were 99 young people under the age of 25, including 13 children younger than 16.

Working with South Wales Police and the Violence Prevention Unit, we set out to create a campaign that could speak to young people aged 11 to 16 about the risks and consequences of carrying a knife.

But this issue goes beyond young people alone. It affects parents, carers, educators and wider communities, so the campaign needed to bring everyone into the conversation.

Lead by research and insight

With a subject this serious, every decision had to be grounded in evidence. We spoke with young people, youth workers, academics and more than 30 partners working with South Wales Police.

During our research, one message came through clearly: young people trust those who are closest to them – their friends, families, schools and community groups.

We built a campaign that looked and sounded different to anything a police force or government body would create. The tone was designed to feel peer-led, not institutional. It needed to feel like it came from their world, not ours.

We were also careful not to exaggerate the issue. Despite media narratives, knife carrying remains rare, and scare tactics can do more harm than good. Our job was to be honest, not alarmist – and to empower young people with real information and a sense of choice.

The name #NotTheOne reflects that balance. It is a message about ownership, about taking a different path and about refusing to let someone else decide your future for you.

A man with short curly hair and a beard sits against a dark brown background, wearing a black T-shirt. He looks downwards with a serious, contemplative expression, softly lit from one side, as if realising he is #NotTheOne.

Close-up of a human eye, showing detailed skin texture, eyelashes, and reflections in the dark brown iris. The image captures the eye partially open with #NotTheOne subtly echoed in the surrounding soft, natural light.

Close-up of a person's eye, focusing on the pupil, iris, and textured skin. The person has brown skin, and the lighting highlights every detail—this is #NotTheOne to miss for those who appreciate striking portrait photography.

Close-up of a human eye with a blue-grey iris, detailed skin texture, and visible eyelashes reflected in the eye’s surface. The lighting emphasises the eye, surrounding wrinkles, and subtly hints that this is #NotTheOne you expected.

Showcasing real experiences

At the heart of the campaign were four real stories, each represented in a short film. They explored the personal circumstances, relationships and decisions that led to a knife crime incident, and the lasting impact it had on those involved.

We worked closely with each participant, alongside South Wales Police, to ensure they felt safe, respected and fully in control of how their story was told. The interviews were handled with care, using a trauma-informed approach. This meant creating space, building trust and listening on their terms.

These stories brought authenticity and emotional weight to the campaign. They allowed young people to see the reality of knife crime not through statistics, but through lived experience.

Watch the series

Carrying their voices into communities

To reach people where they live and learn, their words were also used across outdoor and digital advertising. From buses and train stations to social media, the campaign carried their voices into communities, amplifying their message in an honest and respectful way.

A brick wall displays posters with photos of four people and anti-knife crime messages in English and Welsh, along with hashtags #DdimYrUn and #NotTheOne and QR codes for more information.

A poster on a brick wall shows a serious-looking woman, with text about knife crime in English and Welsh, hashtags #NotTheOne and #DdimYrUn, and information about making safer choices for a better future.

A bus stop poster shows a woman's face with bilingual Welsh and English text warning about knife crime. The poster includes a QR code, metal fencing, and pavement in the background.

Co-created with young people

Young people were not just consulted – they helped shape and deliver the campaign.

We collaborated with creative writing students from Cardiff Met and a local youth acting group to produce ‘Last Seen: A Warning Tale’ – a short film told entirely through a phone screen. The story was developed in partnership with them, reflecting how they speak, text and make sense of the world around them.

The film uses a ‘screen life’ format, unfolding through messages, maps, calls and videos. It mirrors the way many young people experience daily life, giving the story immediacy and emotional impact.

This approach allowed us to explore difficult themes without relying on shock or fear. It felt close to home, not staged. And it spoke to its audience in a way that felt familiar, relevant and real.

Three young people are gathered around a wooden table with laptops, papers, and microphones. One person stands and speaks whilst the other two listen, perhaps deciding who’s #NotTheOne. The room features cosy decor like a lamp and framed art.

Four people have a meeting in a cosy, sunlit room with wooden and stone accents. Two sit at a table with laptops and papers, one is on the windowsill, and another stands, gesturing while talking—#NotTheOne to miss.

Two young women in hoodies sit at a table—one writing on a large sheet with a marker, the other watching. Cups, cake, and a sign reading Changing Lives, Transforming Communities are visible. #NotTheOne.

A group of young people sit and talk around a table indoors. One person in a beige hoodie looks at another in a red jacket, whilst others in the background chat or use their mobiles. The mood suggests someone might be feeling #NotTheOne.

‘Last Seen: A Warning Tale’. Answer the call.

The microsite and education packs

The campaign microsite became the central hub for information and resources. It hosted the campaign films and allowed young people to engage with the content at their own pace.

It also gave teachers and educators access to lesson plans, discussion materials and classroom content. These tools were designed to help spark meaningful conversations, challenge misconceptions and give professionals the confidence to address knife crime in a practical and sensitive way.

A person using a laptop sits in a dimly lit room. The screen displays a website titled Real experiences with a close-up image of a face and text offering encouragement and hope.

Earning national recognition

Police forces across the UK approached the team to explore how they could implement the campaign in their own regions.

Its distinct approach, represented by real voices and informed by evidence, stood out as a meaningful alternative to traditional crime prevention messaging.

To support this wider adoption, we developed a comprehensive set of campaign guidelines. These helped ensure consistency in tone, message and visual identity, while allowing space for regional adaptation. The aim was to protect what made the campaign effective, while enabling others to deliver it in ways that felt relevant to their own communities.

Three young people stand outdoors, smiling and conversing beneath bold white text that reads #NotTheOne. Lush trees and greenery provide a vibrant backdrop.

A presentation slide titled Using photography, marked with #NotTheOne, shows three photo examples demonstrating how to inspire audiences, avoid provoking fear, and be inclusive in campaigns. Each heading includes a photo and descriptive text.

A smiling young person in a hoodie stands outdoors. Text reads Thank you, includes contact information for the #NotTheOne campaign, and displays supporting organisation logos and the #NotTheOne hashtag.

Impact

12% drop in knife crime across South Wales – reversing the national trend
15,000 young people reached with education materials
1,000 education pack downloads across South Wales
National press coverage both print and digital
The campaign has been integrated into national knife crime interventions
#NotTheOne campaign adopted by other UK police forces
UK Home Office shares the campaign as an example of best practice
Positive feedback from young people and youth workers
100,000+ engagements on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok

When you’re addressing a problem as serious and life-changing as knife crime, there’s a deep responsibility to get it right. What stood out with Blue Stag was their commitment to listening – to us, to young people, to youth workers, and to experts – to understand what really lies behind a young person’s decision to pick up a knife. They then had the creativity, skills, and sensitivity to craft a campaign that directly addresses this thinking in a provocative and powerful way. The campaign has been really well received by our communities but, more importantly, it seems to be making a tangible difference to the problem. This is something we can all be proud of.