Tragic schoolboy is remembered in knife crime project
A YOUTH project to tackle knife crime will use the murder of Cleethorpes schoolboy Luke Walmsley, 14, to show how quickly a conflict can turn tragic when blades are involved.
Luke was the first pupil in the UK to be killed on school grounds when he was stabbed in the heart by Alan Pennell in 2003. Luke’s grieving parents, Jayne and Paul Walmsley, have previously said knife crime has escalated “out of control” and tougher sentences are needed.
Now a £39,000 scheme – branded Project Think Sharp – has been
launched by Lincolnshire Police with the help of Luke’s parents to raise awareness of what happens to people carrying knives. It aims to reach out to people aged between 10 and 19.
A bid submitted for the project submitted by Lincolnshire Police in April stated: “We will be using the tragic murder of school pupil, Luke Walmsley who was the first pupil to be killed on school grounds in the UK.
“This happened in Lincolnshire. We will be working very closely with Luke’s parents and many key partners from across the community safety partnership both in the construction of the build and the intervention material it contains.”
Figures from the East Midlands Ambulance Service report there were 127 stabbings attended by paramedics between April 1, 2019 and
March 31, 2020. Two of these victims were confirmed dead at the scene, Lincolnshire Live reports.
Between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021, there were 122 stabbing reports and again, two were confirmed dead on arrival of the crew. Recent high profile cases involving knives or weapons include Daniel Boulton murdering his ex-partner Bethany Vincent, 26, and her nineyear-old son Darren Henson in Louth in May 2021.
Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones told the Lincolnshire Police and Crime Panel on Friday, November 18 that the force had taken the opportunity to move forward quickly with the plans.
Speaking after the meeting, he said: “It’s using the facilities to be able to put a programme together which we’ll be able to take people to create almost a real-life scenario around the dangers of knife crime.
“It’s really to bring that real-life awareness to young people about what happens if you’re carrying a knife, whether it’s for ‘your own protection’ (it almost always isn’t) or it’s part of other illegal activities – whatever it is it will end badly.
“The chances of you being involved in a serious incident, both as a victim or perpetrator, go up so much when you carry a knife, so we want to bring that to life for young people.”