This year in particular knife crimehas had a devastating impact on families and communities in Bristol. It led Bristol Live and the Bristol Post to join forces with other media across the city, as well as community leaders, charities and campaigners to launch Together for Change, our anti-knife crime campaign to say enough is enough.
Together for Change, which was established in March, set out a list of goals which we wanted to achieve. These included working with campaigners to highlight initiatives to get knives off the street, to raise awareness of how other factors including poverty, cuts to youth services and social exclusion link into knife crime, and setting up a task force to determine how we can really make a difference.
Looking at social media and assessing harmful content, holding power, including Avon and Somerset Police and Bristol City Council, to account and lobbying the government using the context of the General Election are other goals which were established. Across 2024, we have reported on knife crime across all angles, from court proceedings to the impact on those affected by the use of a blade, to life after a loss.
During the last year, knife crime has remained a problem. Sadly at least 10 people have been stabbed, including at least four fatally. But action is being taken and will continue to be taken.
What has happened in 2024 to tackle knife crime?
Together For Change Aims
Set up a task force – We will develop a community-driven task force to meet and discuss the issue, how best to tackle it and how we can make a real difference with those in power.
Getting knives off the street – We will work with the campaigners to raise awareness of initiatives designed to get knives off the streets.
Social media – We will look at the Online Safety Bill and see if it goes far enough where it comes to harmful knife-related content on social media and how easy it is for children to see.
Raise awareness – We will work together to raise the awareness of how knife crime is linked to poverty, education, employment, social exclusion and the collapse in youth services
Lobby the government -We will cover the issue in the context of the General Election, using our findings from the taskforce and our reporting to lobby for change
Hold power to account – We will scrutinise and hold Avon and Somerset Police and Bristol City Council to account on their plans and models to make Bristol safer
Bristol Live made it a priority from the very start to talk about knife crime and encourage discussion on a far deeper level. Many factors can affect knife crime, away from just having a knife, which includes access to services, mental health support and community.
A director of a youth club in Bristol said that financial difficulties meant that the club was struggling to survive, and worried about the loss of a positive impact on the overall community. Places which give a sense of community to young people, like Empire Fighting Chance, helps young people turn their life around even when they feel unable to get help.
Charities like Mikey’s World were set up to help raise awareness of bleed kits, campaigners like Leanne Reynolds had long pushed for bleed kits to be installed and a plumbing firm helped install more in July. A bleed kit was credited with saving a boy’s life after a freak accident.
Avon and Somerset Police also have installed bleed kits in vital locations, including at Castle Park, since it started its own initiative in 2023. Alongside the bleed kit initiative, surrender bins have also been installed in Bristol and the wider region, leading to thousands of knives being removed from the streets of Bristol. These knives will be melted down to create a “positive legacy”.
The impact knife crime has had on both individuals and the wider community has been widely felt. Hayley Ryall, who lost her son Mikey Roynon to knife crime, thanked her friends, family and the community for supporting her through months of “hell”, Elliot Kinuthia, brother of Eddie Kinuthia, said that he will continue Eddie’s legacy as a “positive influence” and the mum of Max Dixon, Leanne Ekland launched a new foundation in her son’s name.
A boxing coach said that young people were going to school “afraid and wary” of one another. A rapper from Bristol called for a five-year prison sentence for those caught carrying a knife, whilst drill music has also been called a contributing factor in knife crime.
Police expressed concern over teenagers being able to buy illegal knives online, and in a bid to leave a lasting impact, the Knife Angel visited Weston-super-Mare during an anti-crime tour.
Police also confirmed that 12,000 children from as young as nine-years-old will be taught about how to use bleed kits using a partnership with Lifeskills. The news divided opinion, and Bristol Live asked whether we, as a society, have failed children because it had led to youngsters learning about catastrophic bleeding.
In October, we held our first meeting of the supporters who make up the task force, which was very positive and helped us set out what areas we would be focussing outr coverage on.
In November, five people were found guilty for the double murder of Max Dixon and Mason Rist in January. In the case of Darrian Williams, two teenagers were convicted of his murder.
What will happen in 2025?
In 2025, we’ll continue our focus on those issues that a behind the knife crime issue. And our Task Force will kick off in earnest. Out of our first meeting, we identified specific areas of focus for Bristol Live and the other media partners. We are in the process of setting up sub-groups from the signatories and supporters to drill down on those issues and set out a pathway forward towards achievable goals.
Bristol Live editor Pete Gavan said: “We knew when we set out this would be a long and slow campaign but we will not stop. In 2025, we’ll get the task force going in earnest, with fresh targets around individual goals.
“Knife crime continues to impact this city and our aims haven’t change – to work with communities and groups to make a difference to those lives that are impacted and make a positive change for Bristol.”
However, all this will be for nothing if we do not push on with our campaign. We will continue to hold power to account, to report on the causations and effects of knife crime and to continue to say that enough is enough.
The sad truth is that whilst some families have had justice in a court trial, others are waiting for information or for proceedings to begin. The mother of Eddie Kinuthia, who was murdered in July 2023, appealed for the family or parents of those responsible for her son’s death to come forward and tell police as her son’s killers remains unidentified.
Bristol deserves better than to live in fear about knife crime. So in 2025, we will continue to push onwards and show everyone that we, as a city, are a united front against the blade.
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