Merseyside Police and LFC Foundation partnership keeps young people ‘onside’

More than 200 of Merseyside’s young people have taken part in this year’s Onside+ Programme, which addresses issues around youth and gang crime.

The LFC Foundation’s Onside+ Programme leverages the power of the LFC badge to engage with young people, providing them with key skills, confidence, and the resilience needed to overcome obstacles and choose the right pathway in life.

Funded by Merseyside Police’s county lines programme, Project Medusa, since its inception in 2019, the programme forms a key part of the force’s prevention work.

The Onside+ Programme is a targeted intervention for young people aged 11-19 years from secondary schools, alternative education settings, and colleges. Typically spanning 12 weeks, the programme aims to enhance personal and social skills while educating students on critical issues such as county lines, knife crime and mental health.

Young people can also gain a qualification and are encouraged to develop and execute a community project either in their school or within their community.

Last week, a celebration event was held at Anfield Stadium. Young people presented their community projects, sharing the impact they have made over the past 12 weeks with other schools. Meols Cop High School in Southport was selected as the most impactful project.

Meols Cop High School (pictured) was selected as the most impactful project

The force’s Safer Schools team and Matrix Firearms Unit were also in attendance, delivering a powerful presentation titled Operation Prospect, to highlight the dangers of carrying weapons, the risk of exploitation and the involvement in serious violence.

The Onside+ programme is one of many early intervention and safeguarding initiatives supported by Project Medusa under Operation Stonehaven.

Operation Stonehaven is Merseyside Police’s preventative and diversionary pathway for young people. Working with 40 charities and organisations, it has delivered mass participation county lines awareness training and diversionary activities to more than 31,000 young and vulnerable people during 2024/25. Additionally, it has provided targeted support for 1,356 young people at risk of, or engaged in, county lines.

Jimmy Belmar, Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) for Project Medusa said: “The Onside+ Programme has made a huge difference for young people in Merseyside. We've seen them gain confidence, learn important skills, and make better choices for their future.

“Our close partnership with the LFC Foundation allows us to run this successful programme year after year, reaching the right people with the right support they need to help them thrive.”