Alert over soaring knife crime in county
FIGURES showing a 64 per cent increase in knife crime in Gloucestershire over the past 10 years are a “red flag” and something needs to be done, says a leading national campaigner.
Patrick Green, CEO of the Ben Kinsella Trust, says knife crime is going up in the county faster than most other places - citing statistics showing Gloucestershire Constabulary recorded 187 crimes involving knives in 2011 and 306 in 2021.
Mr Green says the issue, more often linked with cities such as London and Liverpool, is now becoming a problem in the shires.
Like Gloucestershire teenager Josh Hall, whose killer was convicted of murder on Wednesday, Ben Kinsella was stabbed to death.
The 16-year-old was killed in a clash between two groups of teenagers in Islington, London, in June 2008.
Ben had been celebrating the end of his GCSEs in a local club when he and his friends were chased by three older teenagers seeking revenge for an altercation they had absolutely nothing to do with.
He became the 17th teenager to be killed in London that year and his killing sparked marches and protests in the capital and a campaign by his sister, EastEnders actress Brooke Kinsella, which earned her an MBE.
“It’s not just a London problem,” said Mr Green, who says knife crime is actually starting to fall in some bigger cities.
“Over the last 10 years knife crime in Gloucestershire has increased by 64 per cent, compared to 29 per cent for England and Wales as a whole,” he added, quoting crime figures from the Office for National Statistics.
“In London, which is perceived as having the biggest problem, knife crime is only 20 per cent up on what it was 10 years earlier so 64 per cent is a lot. Although the overall numbers in Gloucestershire are quite small, the way they have increased faster than the national average is a red flag,” he said.
“If you look back over the last 10 years the number was running at less than 200 a year – now it’s more than 300. Left unchecked it could get worse and in a couple of years you will be talking more than 400 knife crimes a year. “
The London-based charity encourages prevention through education and works with around 4,000 young people a year.
It also provides free, online resources for schools and other organisations to show how knife crime wrecks the lives of both victim and offender.
Some schools in Gloucestershire have already approached the trust for help to educate pupils and Mr Green says most young people who carry knives claim they are doing it for protection.
“Some young people do pick up a knife like we would pick up our mobile phone or keys,” he said.
“We have to tackle the popular misconception that knives are there to protect you, because that is the one thing a knife does not do.
“There are lots of other ways young people can stay safe without carrying knives and it’s paramount that we teach them.”
He says the police have to play a part but they can’t solve it on their own.
His advice comes as the parents of 17-year-old Josh Hall, who was stabbed at a playing field in Cam in April, also shared a plea to parents to help prevent knife crime from “destroying” more lives.