Another stabbing incident in the news; another young person’s life in jeopardy, another family and community suffering and in shock as a direct result of the increase of knife crime in our towns and cities. Just because we are a quiet rural community we can’t afford to be complacent, and the mistaken belief ‘it could never happen here’ offers no protection from the harsh realities of life. Prevention will always be better than the demand for action after the fact and, unfortunately, all the outpouring of tears and a lifetime of regret can’t undo the damage done, or turn back the clock.
Prevention doesn’t just happen and it’s never just someone else’s responsibility; it is about educating people to the harsh realities of knife crime, and the dangers of young people associating with those who think it’s necessary or cool to carry a knife for bravado or personal protection. Both of these excuses can earn you a prison sentence if you are lucky, and a life sentence for those you leave behind if it all goes sadly wrong. New Police initiatives like those of Operation Sceptre have to be applauded with the placement of knife bins across the region, but the correct placement of such knife bins is vital, and locating these bins at police stations may prove counterproductive, only time will tell, but it’s a step in the right direction.
All of the evidence and indicators show knife crime and stabbing incidents are a real and worrying fact of life and on the increase nationally, we don’t have the luxury of complacency, or the misguided belief this is one national trend that will miraculously pass us by. Thanks to the media, it’s the grotesque and savage Rambo style knives that grab the headlines, but the evidence shows it’s the often overlooked and unassuming kitchen knife that is used in many stabbing incidents simply because of their availability and are readily at hand. The posters available from Aycliffe Radio and Around Town may say ‘Newton Aycliffe Says No To Knives’ but we must, as a community, take the initiative to educate our young people to the harsh reality that when it comes to the dangers of knife crime all knives matter.
Cllr Phillip Hawkins