Students attend hard hitting Real Men Don’t Carry Knives event
On Monday 5th November, Hugh Baird College students attended a hard hitting event aimed at reducing knife crime in Liverpool and educating students on the risks associated with carrying knives.
As part of the event, which was delivered through the Liverpool based ‘Real Men Don’t Carry Knifes’ campaign and the national ‘No more knives’ campaign, students met with Alan Walsh from Anfield Boxing Club who spoke about the devastating impact knife crime has on the local communities and families. The students then broke in to groups to undertake a range of activities looking at stereotyping, knife crime consequences and the results of stabbing attacks on the human body.
Knife crime in Merseyside is at its highest level in 10 years, with more than 900 serious incidents reported last year. The latest crime data from the Office of National Statistics reveals Merseyside Police recorded 945 serious crimes involving knives during the last financial year. This is up 18% on the previous year, which saw 801 knife crimes recorded, and the highest total on record for figures going back to 2008/09.
Alan Walsh from Anfield Boxing Club and part of the ‘Real Men Don’t Carry Knives’ campaign said:
Knife crime is devastating communities and families, I believe we can win this battle and young people are the enablers. The first step is educating the young people and working in partnerships with colleges like Hugh Baird College to make students aware of the impact their actions could cause.
Chelsea Rutherford, Princes Trust Team Leader at Hugh Baird College said:
It is so important that our students get to grips with the severity of this awful crime, working alongside Alan and the ‘Real Men Don’t Carry Knives’ campaign have been a really successful and I’d like to thank him for his time today. It is important that we educate all our students about the damaging effects of knife crime. I believe that with events like this will one-day help to abolish knife crime in the Liverpool City region.
The Prince's Trust Team programme is a free 12-week course, that offers work experience, challenging community projects and an adventurous five-day, team building residential trip.
For more information on the Prince’s Trust Team Programme at Hugh Baird College visit: www.hughbaird.ac.uk/subject-area/princes-trust-team-programme
