More young people must be involved in anti knife crime efforts, says Bristol campaigner
At 21 Serena Weibe says she is the youngest contributor in a Coalition of people advising the government
There's questions over whether young people are being involved enough in discussions on how to reduce knife crime, as figures show the number of incidents in Bristol last year, were up 26 per cent.
Data from Avon and Somerset Police, which we first reported on Tuesday (13th January), show 1,953 crimes involving knives were recorded in the city between April 2023 and March 2024, compared to 1,553 the previous year.
The figures show serious violence offences involving knives saw an even larger jump of 38 per cent, with 585 crimes recorded last year, compared to 423 the year before.
To get reaction to the news Greatest Hits Radio has been speaking to Bristol's Serena Weibe, who lost her friend Eddie Kinuthia to a fatal stabbing in Bristol in July 2023.
Serena, who works as a boxing coach at the gym Empire Fighting Chance, said she is not surprised, before adding that the young people finding themselves caught up in knife crime need to be involved more in finding the solution.
The Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime
As part of their 2024 General Election campaign Labour pledged they would halve knife crime incidents across the UK in a decade, were they to form a government.
Having been elected in July, in September the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced the creation of a Coalition to discuss the issue, made up of campaigners including the actor Idris Elba, bereaved families and others, including Serena.
In a statement released by the government at the time a spokesperson said: "It (the Coalition) will work with experts to develop an extensive understanding of what causes young people to be dragged into violence, providing vital evidence that will drive government policy and holding the government to account on its knife crime commitments."
Serena though, who is 21, says she has concerns there aren't more people her age involved, saying she is the youngest.
She told Greatest Hits Radio: "I do make it clear that I think we need to get more young people in these meetings.
"Obviously it's all good me being there but I can't speak up for thousands and thousands of young people. I do, but it can't just be me.
"We need to involve other young people into these conversations because at the end of the day, we're the ones that are actually dealing with it.
"It's all good having these conversations but we need to hear from the young people who are actually fearing for their lives these days."
Since the summer of 2023 six people aged 19 or under have been killed by stabbings across Bristol and Bath.
They are Eddie Kinuthia (19), Ben Moncrieff (18), Mikey Roynon (16), Max Dixon (16), Darrian Williams (16) and Mason Rist (15).
In each case, with the exception of Eddie's in which no one has been charged to date, other teenagers have been found guilty of the killings.
We have contacted the Home Office for a response to Serena's comments.