The new West Midlands Chair for Crimestoppers is Mohammad Zafran also known as Zaf to everyone. In addition to being the Pride of Birmingham winner and the UK goodwill Ambassador for youth and community, Zaf has received over 35 National Awards and has been recognised by the Queen for his altruistic work over the past ten years.
Since the murder of his 24-year-old brother-in-law in 2010, Zaf has engaged with over 36000 kids while working at the South and City college. In addition, he also works with the West Midlands Police and serves as an example for youngsters. Zaf helps vulnerable youngsters change their lives via education and sports enabling them to get employment. Zaf has always opposed violence, and with Knife crime and drug peddling on the rise in the UK in recent years, he has made great efforts in reducing these activities by holding drug awareness workshops and giving presentation on knife crime in youth hubs, mosques, and public events. During covid, he set up different projects online with the police which helped the youths.
The UK police force is not affiliated with Crimestoppers, an independent organization that helps people in providing anonymous information about criminal activity. In order to find suspected British criminals who are believed to be hiding out in Europe, the organization works with partners including the National Crime Agency and UK Border Agency. There are more than 100 staff and 350 volunteers for Crimestoppers. they also conduct a large number of campaigns including the Game of Fraud, Human Trafficking and Scratch and Sniff Cannabis about various forms of crime and appealing for information.
As the West Midland’s Chair for Crimestoppers, Zaf believes that he has an excellent platform to aware the public about the importance of speaking up about illegal activities that may happen in their surroundings and reporting it to the organization . In order to promote community cohesion he will be conducting knife crime campaigns at football clubs, mosques, and colleges and will be seen on Sky TV in his own TV show. Zaf is promoting the IGNITE course at the south and city college, which is perfect for at-risk youth who are 19 years old and not in school, working or receiving any kind of training. The two – week programme supports them to get back to school, help them build a resume, supports them during job interviews, and provides them with enrichment activities. Apache Indian, a legend in the local music industry also supports the programme. For students with an interest in music, a career path is also an option.
