Southport killer’s sentencing highlights urgent need for knife crime education.
The shocking details of the deaths of three young girls and the attempted murders of ten people, has been heard in Liverpool Crown Court this week. Axel Rudakubana was 17yrs old when he carried out a premeditated attack and planned to kill multiple victims, at a summer holiday Taylor Swift themed activity in a Southport dance studio on 29th July 2024. It was a brutal crime that shocked not only a nation but around the world. As we reflect on the sentencing being handed down yesterday, it serves as a stark reminder why there is an urgent need for lifesaving knife crime education for our children and young people. The Safety Centre, the first safety education charity in the world is calling on businesses, funders and organisations to fund their lifesaving knife crime education workshops teaching 9-12 year olds about the dangers and life changing consequences of being involved in knife crime.
Maya Joseph-Hussain CEO of the Safety Centre said, ‘The shocking details of the violent deaths of Bebe King aged six, Elsie Dot Stanhope aged seven and Alice da Silva Aguiar aged nine years old, and the attempted murder of ten people including eight children, is beyond comprehension. It is clear to me more than ever that in order to prevent another barbaric and brutal death, that more needs to be done to combat knife crime and to address the levels of violence against Women and Girls. I urge our community to come forward and fund our vital knife crime prevention work. Support us to educate our young people at those teachable moments in their life before it is too late.
Here at the Safety Centre, our knife crime education workshops are designed to create safe spaces to speak with young people in an age-appropriate way to dispel myths and common misconceptions about carrying weapons and being involved in knife crime. There is no safe way to use, carry or participate in knife crime. Knives destroy lives for victims and perpetrators. We need funding for our knife crime workshops now to give children and young people the tools they need to make safe choices in the future. We are calling on all businesses, organisations and funders to fund this work and urge you to reach out to us today to help keep our communities safe. Please help us to help your children and contact amanda@safetycentre.co.uk or call 01908 263009 today.’
The Safety Centre’s knife crime safety education workshops have been designed for 9-12 year olds and are being delivered in schools across the region. Sessions are tailored to match the learning age of the students, creating safe spaces for lifesaving conversations about knives and weapons. Sessions have been delivered to 20,000 students across the region in the past 3 years but this early intervention work needs to continue now to help students make safer and better choices when it comes to the dangerous issue of knife crime, reducing the impact of crime and vulnerability.
