Press release: Solicitor General visits knife crime charity

Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC MP will be visiting the Ben Kinsella Trust today to see first-hand how the Trust is working to educate young people away from knife crime.

In 2012, the charity launched the Ben Kinsella Exhibition and workshops, which are designed to help young people appreciate and understand the lasting damage that knife crime can have on them and those around them.

The charity was awarded £11,437 of government funding in 2017 to deliver two holistic and hands on programmes to two groups of up to 20 parents who are concerned about knife crime.

Solicitor General Robert Buckland said:

Knife crime has truly devastating consequences for families and local communities.

To tackle it, we need to change young people’s attitudes so they are not tempted to carry a knife in the first place, and ensure they understand that they risk inflicting injury or even a loss of life if they do.

The government’s Serious Violence Strategy puts a greater focus on early intervention, so it’s great to see the work happening at the Ben Kinsella Trust to educate young people about the dangers of carrying knives.

In April, the government published its first Serious Violence Strategy. The Strategy strikes a balance between prevention and robust law enforcement with an £11 million Early Intervention Youth Fund for community projects to help young people live lives free from violence.

Patrick Green, CEO of the Ben Kinsella Trust said:

We were really pleased to see that the Government’s new Violent Crime Strategy recognised the important role that prevention and education has in reducing knife crime. No child is born with a knife in their hand, it is a learned behaviour. Through education we help young people learn positive ways to stay safe and turn away from knife crime.