A NEW interactive video game is aiming to teach school pupils the dangers of knife crime and to encourage them to stand up, speak out and get help if a friend or someone they know is carrying a knife.

The Nae Danger Game from No Knives Better Lives (NKBL) follows a group of friends as they face different situations involving knife carrying. It invites young people to shape key moments where their decisions can take several different directions, some with grave outcomes.

The game is free and available to all local authorities in Scotland. It will be delivered primarily in secondary schools and youth clubs, supported by local facilitators. 

To make the game, the developers worked alongside young people, taking their ideas, opinions and experiences of knife crime and using their feedback to shape the game.

Along with the game, a toolkit with key questions, facts and discussion points will draw out key discussions from the game and ask young people to reflect on the big question: what would you do if someone you knew was carrying a knife? 

Through the game, young people will understand why it is important to act if they know that someone else is carrying a knife.

Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “Young people are at the heart of what No Knives Better Lives do and none more so than their Nae Danger Game. 

“Although levels of knife crime have fallen drastically over the last decade, we cannot be complacent. That is why I am delighted to see this game launched and I am sure it will play an important part in further reducing handling of offensive weapons.”

Orielle Taylor, national co-ordinator for NKBL at YouthLink Scotland, said: “In the last decade, the level of knife crime in Scotland has drastically reduced, but one incident is still one too many. Work with young people is key to continuing to prevent knife crime. 

“The Nae Danger Game has given us an exciting new way to talk to all young people about their role in preventing knife carrying through peer support.”