‘Children carry blades and they’re not afraid to use them’

A young person from Bath has spoken out about knife crime saying some “younger children” carry knives and are “unafraid” to use them.

The anonymous youth said that young people have fears about going to the police in case they are targeted by those they report.

He said young people have fears of “being beaten and chased out of town” if they report issues to the authorities.

He said: “People come to Bath and I’ve seen a lot of things here.

“In the younger community in Bath if you get robbed with a knife you don’t go to the police because if you do you’ll get stabbed by a friend of the person who robbed you or you’ll get beaten and chased out of town.

“The younger kids carry weapons and are unafraid to use them.”

The young man says he wants Bath to be safe but said “it is not”.

He talks about young people in the city being involved in crime and not being caught because of fears of reporting. He said: “When I went to school in the area there was a boy who was 15 and had brought up to £1,000 of crack into school, didn’t get caught.

“A person got robbed with machetes and is too scared to contact the police in fear. “One of them had to go to A&E from being stomped on. The people that did it are 16 and 17. “I have an unbelievable amount of things to say and I really want Bath to be safe but it’s not.”

The youth claims that some children are being manipulated into crime by adults.

He said: “There’s one person who’s been around Bath for three years. He’s known to have stabbed four different people and robbed almost everyone I know.

“But he’s still out there walking around with people not facing any punishment, invoking fear, terrorising the younger generation, manipulating children into robbing and selling class A drugs.

“You never hear how bad it actually is.”