Northamptonshire school children help deliver anti-knife crime message

Pupils from Newton Road School in Rushden and Isebrook SEN College in Eastleigh Road, Kettering, have been busy decorating wooden baubles to raise awareness of the dangers of carrying a knife.

In total 100 baubles have been designed by the 10 to 13-year-olds, which will be used to decorate a Christmas tree at the Force’s Northern Accommodation Building (NAB) in Kettering.

Representatives from both schools have been invited to the police base tomorrow (Wednesday, December 4) for a special event, which will include singing Christmas carols and the official switch-on of the Christmas tree lights.

At the event, the pupils will join local officers and Northamptonshire Emergency Services Cadets, who have also designed baubles, to help hang their decorations on the anti-knife crime themed 10ft tree.

Head of the Northamptonshire North Local Policing Area, Superintendent Dennis Murray, said: “It is a sad fact that knife crime is becoming normalised among our young people which is why the Force has added it to its policing priorities for 2020.

“The majority of young people would not dream of carrying a knife however those who do, do so in the belief it is going to protect them. Every time a knife is used, there is potential for two lives to be changed forever – both that of the victim and the person who uses it.

“To have an impact on knife crime, we need to start educating our children at a younger age in order to prevent them from getting to that point where they believe carrying a knife is ‘normal’.

“Working in partnership with our schools on projects like this is essential, as it not only raises awareness of the impact knife crime has on society as a whole but also encourages our young people to speak out against it.”

Both schools will be presented with a certificate for taking part in the project, and there will be a special prize for the winning design from each school.