If we blame zombie knives or police, those are just symptoms ...we need to focus on the cause
PROMISING footballer Kiyan Prince had his life ripped away in a moment of shocking violence 18 years ago.
His father, Dr Mark Prince OBE, is frustrated by the knife crime epidemic that has taken many more lives since but is determined to steer young people onto the right path.
Kiyan, 15, had been on the verge of a professional contract with Queens Park Rangers when he was fatally wounded after intervening to protect a classmate in a fight at London Academy in Edgware, on May 18, 2006.
Hannad Hasan, 16, was jailed for life for Kiyan’s murder.
Dr Prince, who founded the Kiyan Prince Foundation in 2008 in memory of his son, said: “Everyone was looking forward to seeing Kiyan’s career flourish.
“Kiyan’s character was taking him places and it would match up to his talent and it would just blow people away.”
In his darkest days Dr Prince, a former IBF and WBO light-heavyweight boxing champ, struggled with thoughts of revenge but was sustained by his faith. He said: “Do I break all of what I’ve taught Kiyan because someone’s killed him?
“That’s the crossroads I was at. So I’m glad God’s given me the strength to trust in his word.”
The Foundation this week published research it commissioned indicating a majority of young people in the UK aged 16-24 fear being threatened with a knife or mugged.
Meanwhile, more than 4,500 youth work jobs have been cut and 750 youth centres closed since 2010. Home Office figures reveal 12,786 knife-related offences in 2022/23 – up more than 1,500 compared with the previous year.
However, Dr Prince – who was awarded his OBE in 2018, and an Honorary Doctorate from Excel University – refuses to politicise the debate.
He said: “I just want to move forward with positivity. That’s why I’m not in a battle with politicians.”
Addressing the tragedy played out on the nation’s streets every day, he stresses: “It’s heartbreaking.
“These kids are saying ‘where’s our opportunities? They feel disenfranchised.
“If we blame zombie knives or police, those are just the symptoms. We need to focus on the cause.”
Dr Prince, who believes the Government should help fund grassroots organisations such as the Foundation, says of both the victims and perpetrators: “Imagine those children, who could they have become.
“That’s what we’re being robbed of, the inventors, the painters, the artists that we’re killing with this issue.”
● For details of the foundation’s work see www.thekpf.com.