West Midlands mothers unite to demand action
BBC
Alison Cope, Pooja Kanda and Charlotte Marshall (left to right) will quiz leaders of West Midlands Police together
Three mums whose sons were stabbed to death say the ban on zombie knives must go much further if the country is to win the fight against knife crime.
Alison Cope, Charlotte Marshall and Pooja Kanda say compulsory education in schools and earlier intervention for minor crimes is vital to help drive down senseless stabbings.
The women, from the West Midlands, have dedicated their lives to campaigning against knives since their sons were murdered.
They will meet with the leaders of West Midlands Police on Tuesday to ask how they plan to cut the worst rate of knife crime in the country.
The ban, which came into force at midnight, means it will be illegal to possess “zombie-style” knives and machetes in England and Wales.
Mrs Kanda, whose son Ronan was killed by a boy who had bought a machete and ninja sword set online using a fake name, said she did not believe the ban would have much effect.
She told the Labour party conference on Monday that young people were likely to turn to kitchen knives or swords instead and wants the online sale of all large knives banned.
“I can’t have this happen to another child. I just can’t,” she told the BBC.
Alison Cope’s son was stabbed in the heart near a nightclub in Birmingham in 2013
Mrs Cope, whose son Joshua Ribera was murdered while attending a memorial event for another teen who had been stabbed, has spoken to thousands of schoolchildren in her efforts to draw them away from knife crime.
She strongly believes her work has saved lives, but says the education system needs to get a grip on the situation.
“We need to do more compulsory work, long term, in education,” Ms Cope said. “We’re waiting till it’s too late.”
She said she had heard of children starting secondary school petrified of knife crime and ending up carrying a knife themselves for protection.
Ronan Kanda’s killers had been excluded or suspended from school.
His mother said there needed to be a system in place to guide children in this position, rather than abandoning them.
“We need to support children instead of discarding them, because it can lead them to do things like murder,” Ms Kanda said.
Family
Ronan Kanda, Joshua Ribera and Reece Ottaway all died from stab wounds
Mrs Marshall said anyone caught with a knife should undergo a compulsory programme to ensure they understood the effects blades had on their lives and victims’ families.
Her son Reece Ottaway, originally from Rugby in Warwickshire, was murdered by a gang of men who broke into his flat in Northampton.
His killers used a zombie-style knife, with one wound 15cm (6in) deep. They then took off with just £10 and an iPhone.
Pooja Kanda and Ronan’s sister Nikita also want a ban on the sale of other weapons such as swords
Ms Kanda has urged the government to go after the source of the weapons as well, including online retailers or anyone selling knives without doing the proper checks.
“The knife needs to come out of their hand first, because you can’t give a child a lecture while they’re holding a knife,” Ms Kanda said.
“So to me it is important that the online sale of these weapons are banned so they don’t get into the wrong hands.”
The new legislation will make it an offence to own, make, transport or sell a wide range of what are called “statement” knives favoured by criminal gangs.
However, the women have no doubt people will still get their hands on other blades and children will continue to die.
Charlotte Marshall’s son was stabbed to death at his Northampton flat
‘More investment’
The mums will meet with West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford and Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster on Tuesday.
Project Guardian, an initiative by the force to stamp out knife crime and tackle youth violence, was launched in 2019. It operates across Birmingham, the Black Country, Coventry and Solihull.
“We’ve all sadly seen the harm which weapons can cause and we work day in day out to take weapons off the streets,” West Midlands Police said.
Mr Foster added more investment was being made in prevention, early intervention and addressing the underlying causes of violence.
He said his Violence Reduction Partnership was engaged in delivering a wide range of projects, including education in schools and youth workers in accident and emergency departments, police custody centres and on school routes.
Ronan’s sister Nikita said: “If we can understand why kids are going down the wrong path and harming themselves and other people, then maybe we can stop this and make people understand that knife crime isn’t the way forward.”
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