Early intervention knife crime education has been delivered by The Safety Centre to 14,500 9-11 year olds in the past two years.
This month marks 30 years since the death of Stephen Lawrence who was murdered in a racist attack in London in 1993.
In November 2022, Stephen Lawrence’s brother Dr Stuart Lawrence joined the Safety Centre to talk about the importance of our early intervention knife crime education programme to prevent future tragedies through learning.
Work at the Safety Centre and across the region focuses on giving children, young people and adults the tools and knowledge to make safe choices and keep themselves, their communities and their futures’ safe.
The centre's preventative education work helps build safe, flourishing communities today and tomorrow. However, this pioneering learning cannot carry on without the backing of funders and businesses to ensure the continued delivery of education sessions.
Dr Lawrence said during his speech at the Safety Centre: "We never know when a young person we know or a young person someone else knows will be affected by knife crime. One fifth of all knife crime is committed between the ages of 11 and 17.
"That’s why early intervention is so important, if we can get out into our communities, speak to our young people and let them know the consequences of knife crime. Its not the consequences of today, not tomorrow, not a few weeks time but these things go on for years.
"2023 will be 30 years since the death of Stephen and not a day goes past when I don’t think to myself (my son) is missing out on an uncle… on cousins that he could have had. And this is all through someone’s perception that the way to deal with things is through violence.
"We are only in control of ourselves, that’s all we can control. we can’t control anyone else, we can inform and we can try to educate, it comes down to each and every one of us making our own decisions, our own actions and holding ourselves responsible for them."
The Safety Centre’s Chief Executive Maya Joseph-Hussain said: "In the past two years we’ve educated 14,500 9-11 year olds about the challenging topic of knife crime in an age appropriate, tailored way. We want to continue to empower more children and young people to make positive, safe choices and reduce the impact of crime and vulnerability.
"Collectively our research shows some young people say that they carry a knife for protection or to make them feel safer, even though they wouldn’t think of using it. However, research has shown that you’re actually more likely to become a victim of crime if you’re carrying a knife. The Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice report, ‘Knife Crime Intervention – what works?’ said that current research suggests that education-based interventions hold the most promise for effectively addressing knife crime.
"Our early intervention education is the solution and we are here to help with prevention work at an early age to help young people make safe, lifesaving choices. Businesses and individuals can help us with funding to continue this pioneering work that will save lives."
