Northampton group fighting knife crime says sport helps challenge young people
Athletic Elite's Sideline Project have been funded for the second year by the Northamptonshire Serious Violence Prevention Partnership (NSVPP).
A former athlete from Northamptonshire is helping to keep young people away from knife crime through basketball.
Timothy Fava is a director of Athlete Elite, who with funding from the Northants Police Fire & Crime Commissioner, with grants through the Northamptonshire Serious Violence Prevention Partnership (NSVPP), run the Sideline Project.
The aim is to help combat knife crime and other sorts of violent crime in the Northamptonshire community though sport.
Timothy is a former Basketball Player originally from Gibraltar who has been living with his wife in Northampton and wanted to use his skills to help challenge young people:
"We try and make it as fun as possibly but, we do through that aspect of challenge in there and that for me is why sport is such a valuable asset when it comes to these programmes and when it comes to getting a grip and changing kids."
In Northamptonshire under 18’s account for 15.9% of victims and 23.7% of offenders in the latest knife crime data released in March 2025.
Timothy and his team are fresh from running projects through the half term with children and says so far the Sideline Project have helped 2000 kids so far:
"As much as it's sport and keeping kids activity it's also teaching them about how to go about your life, and some of the key skills it takes to be a successful adult."
It comes as the Northamptonshire Serious Violence Prevention Partnership (NSVPP), which aims to reduce violence across the county and understand the underlying causes, has commissioned a new video called ‘When you carry a knife, no one wins’, which premiered recently.
Cheri Curran whose son Louis-Ryan Menezes was killed on 25 May 2018 in Northampton has pledged her support to the campaign.
She said: “There is no pain like losing your child to knife crime but seeing everyone come together for this campaign gives me hope.
“This campaign is getting to the heart of it. It shows what’s really at stake and how carrying a knife can change everything.
“The video is from the perspective of young people—it shows that forever pain. I hope that through this we can reach them and stop another family from living with that heartache and loss.”