Community Life

With knife crime a rising concern amongst young people in London, independent charity Crimestoppers is trialling a SMS service for pupils at three schools in Tower Hamlets.

By texting a special number, they will be able to anonymously report if someone commits a crime.

Crimestoppers UK Bureau Manager, Michael Gordon-Gibson, said: "We know that the young people are happy to help in our fight against crime providing it is straightforward and easy to do.

The company that has designed the software that will be used to provide the SMS service, Anderson Software, has built it so that text messages are encrypted and then routed through several secure servers, protecting the sender’s personal details.

Built on a three-way partnership between the business community, the police and the media, Crimestoppers claims to have a promising record: Around 17 people are arrested and charged every day as a result of information it receives.

Michael Gordon-Gibson added that if the pilot is a success, Crimestoppers will roll it out to schools across London and then a nationwide "in the near future."

Are you more likely to report crime by SMS? Let me know your thoughts at angela.saini@bbc.co.uk