Spoken word used to tackle serious organised crime as fourth EVOLVE operation launched

Spoken word is being used as a medium to educate young people about a Home Office-backed project designed to breakdown gang culture and make Merseyside safer.

Merseyside Police and partners including Liverpool City Council are approaching the fight against serious and organised crime from a new angle with the roll out of ‘Dear Merseyside’ in secondary schools in EVOLVE areas – those worst affected by serious criminality.

‘Dear Merseyside’ is in essence a love letter to Merseyside created by 21-year-old spoken word artist Joseph Roberts that features problems touching on gang culture and knife crime before talking about solutions and reflecting on the ‘love where you live’ ethos behind EVOLVE.

EVOLVE is Merseyside’s response to the Home Office’s Clear, Hold, Build strategy. This sees police and partners working together long-term to rid neighbourhoods of organised crime groups and build up community resilience to help protect the vulnerable and prevent further serious criminality to make these areas safer for generations to come.

EVOLVE projects are taking place in Netherton (Park Lane area), Wirral (Noctorum, Beechwood and Woodchurch), Liverpool and Knowsley (Dovecot, Yew Tree, Page Moss, Longview and Huyton) and in Everton and parts of Vauxhall.

EVOLVE Everton-Vauxhall is the latest Clear, Hold, Build site – the Clear phase began in January and the Build phase, which will run concurrently with the Clear and Hold phases, launched today (Monday 24 March, 2025) alongside the ‘Dear Merseyside’ roll out at North Liverpool Academy in Everton.

Officers have been carrying out high visibility patrols in the area to disrupt and deter criminal activity.

Since January there have been 255 arrests, 32 warrants executed, 415 stop searches and seven vulnerable people safeguarded. Officers have also seized 12 weapons, around 10kg of drugs and more than £21,000 cash.

The ‘Dear Merseyside’ project launched at a media event in the Odeon, Liverpool One shortly before Christmas featuring talks from Joseph Roberts, Catch22, Everton in the Community and the LFC Foundation to highlight the dangers of exploitation while showcasing some of the diversionary work taking place in the region to improve futures.

The event was attended by more than 120 schoolchildren from EVOLVE schools, the families of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, Ashley Dale, Sam Rimmer and Elle Edwards and partner agencies.

The roll out will see assemblies taking place with around 2,000 Year 8 children who will learn about EVOLVE, watch Joseph performing ‘Dear Merseyside’ live and have opportunity to ask him questions before taking part in a session about exploitation with Catch22 who will let them know the signs to watch out for and what to do if they or someone they know is being exploited.

Following the assemblies, smaller groups of children will be taken to a double decker media bus touring the EVOLVE secondary schools with Joseph and local media agency Springboard, to take part in focused workshops where they will be taught by Joseph how to write their own spoken word versions of ‘Dear Merseyside’.

The children will be given a media brief and taught how to create engaging content for their key target market, resulting in young people creating content for people like them.

They will also be taught how to create short form video and audio content. Springboard will professionalise the content, which will then be used in a social media and audio campaign for Merseyside Police to help further spread these important messages among young people.

T/ Chief Constable Chris Green said: “We recognise that if we want to continue making a big difference to the reduction of serious criminality, we need to be part of a solution that includes young people and that we make positive changes to their attitudes from a young age.

“We hope the ‘Dear Merseyside’ project will empower children to be able to reject the traps set by gangs by encouraging them to see the devastation criminality causes and the importance of reaching out for help, while reflecting on all the positives to living in our fantastic region.

“The project will encourage them to think about problem-solving and we will help them to bring their own ideas to the table, which we hope can contribute to making Merseyside safer.

“As part of our recognition of the important role young people play in our communities, EVOLVE Everton-Vauxhall will be holding a participatory budget event on 29 April at Notre Dame Catholic College where pupils will help decide which community groups’ bids for a slice of a £50,000 funding pot to improve the areas are successful.

“We are committed to making a difference in Merseyside and tackling serious and organised crime in any way that we can. Young people are our future and we are determined to make sure that their futures remain bright.”

While Liverpool is currently celebrating the year of the spoken word literacy rates in Merseyside are among the lowest in the UK.

In July, Joseph will be holding the UK’s first poetry expo at the Liverpool Exhibition Centre where these schoolchildren will also be given an opportunity to perform their poems to other children and the public. It is also hoped that the children’s love letters to Merseyside will later be displayed in key areas across the region.

Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Cllr Laura Robertson-Collins, said: “There is an absolute determination from all of the partners involved in the EVOLVE projects to tackle the root causes of serious violence, so that residents can go about their lives without fear of crime.

“‘The Dear Merseyside’ project and the participatory budget event are part of the commitment to continue to make a real difference and dissuade young people from getting involved in criminality.”

Community groups with projects that could help improve Everton and Vauxhall are asked to complete an application form by emailing Evolve.EvertonVauxhall@merseyside.police.uk or calling Sgt Nicola Hutton on 0151 777 1472.

Any young person wishing to report a crime anonymously can do so by visiting Fearless, part of the national charity Crimestoppers, on https://crimestoppers-uk.org/fearless/news/2025/fearless-in-merseyside or calling 0800 555 111.