A Knowsley initiative to fight knife crime has won first prize at the National Crimebeat Awards held yesterday.
National Crimebeat is a charity which supports youth groups and individuals who have developed projects that help reduce crime
It also recognises positive work in the community.
This year ,two nominations from Merseyside made it to the finals, with ‘Stop the Knives Ending Lives’ awarded first prize in in the Youth Led section as well as the High Sheriffs Association Award.
The second local nomination, WEB Merseyside, from Wirral, was runner up in the Adult Led category.
The High Sheriff of Merseyside said: “It is really rewarding to see projects from Merseyside being recognised in this way at the National Crimebeat award ceremony.
It has been a challenging year for everybody, but all the nominations should be really proud of what they have achieved and will continue to achieve. Congratulations to you all!”
Stop the Knives Ending Lives is a youth driven programme aimed at reducing the number of knife related incidents across Merseyside.
Created by students who make up the Knowsley Youth Cabinet and supported by Constable William Hughes from Merseyside Police, the team have already started a movement amongst young people living in Knowsley.
The initiative was created following ongoing issues in the borough as well as the murder of Adam Ellison in 2017.
Jess, a student at St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School and an elected Member of the Youth Parliament for Knowsley, has led the team in delivering this innovative knife crime programme.
Jess said: “After our launch, we were put into lockdown, which meant that we couldn’t go to schools and youth clubs to share our campaign as originally planned.
“As a result of this, we adapted and relaunched the campaign on social media, reaching over 5000 people.
“This isn’t the end of Stop the Knives Ending Lives; we aim to expand our reach and continue to work with the community and support families like Adam Ellison’s and the ADAM Foundation.”
Constable Hughes said: “It is great to work with positive young people who want to make the places where they live, work and hang out safer for everyone.
“This is just the start of the cabinet’s journey with Merseyside Police.
“Our vision is to raise further awareness of the impact of knife crime by engaging with community partners and secondary schools across the Borough of Knowsley.”
Cllr Shelley Powell, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Communities, said: “Huge congratulations to Knowsley’s Youth Cabinet for their success at the National Crimebeat awards. This is certainly a proud moment for Knowsley and it’s fantastic to see the hard work and commitment of our young people being recognised on a national stage.
For more community stories, click here.
For more Knowsley council stories, follow their Facebook page.
