Online Research: Conflict due to Workplaces and/ or Profit 

IS FAMILY life being split apart by huge societal and work pressures, leading to a serious breakdown in morality among young people with no sustainable role model? According to research, yes. There's a direct link between workplace stress and severe domestic conflict:

• Work-to-Family Conflict: High levels of job demands, work-related stress and long working hours directly translate into work-to-family conflict. This conflict negatively affects the well-being and behaviour of the worker and can be partially mediated by lower family life satisfaction (the word 'mediated' is used because it can't be 'supported').

• Psychological Distress: Employees in high-stress roles, such as social workers, report high rates of stress, psychological distress and burnout - with many stating their mental health suffers because of their job due to increased workload and lack of work-life balance.

• Family Cycle of Stress: Parental stress and concern about a child's mental health (often driven by the parents' own stress/work demands) impacts the parents' performance at work, creating a "cycle of stress" in both their home life and working life. This shows the damage extends beyond the worker to the entire family unit.

• Business Short-Termism: While explicitly linking the term "corporate short-termism" to family split is difficult, the underlying behaviors associated with it - pressure, workload and the need for managers to put 'the interest of the organisation above the wellbeing of their colleagues' - are the biggest drivers of poor mental health caused by work. These pressures are what ultimately destroy the work-life balance necessary to maintain a healthy family life.

• A System Cracking Under the Strain: People are gradually realising that the promise of 'work hard and you'll be rewarded' is often a lie. The reward for constant sacrifice is often just more work, followed by burnout, illness or redundancy (especially when you are no longer operating at 100%). The lived experience of millions is the system - as it's currently configured by many large employers and incentivised by government policy - does not have sufficient mechanisms or motivation to protect its people.

Seriously, if you could count yourself at work behaving a bit like that 4th point, just stop for a break one lunchtime, step back - and take a look at yourself. Things need to change, don't they? Be that change many want to see in the world...

Education programme on dangers of weapon-related crime

THERESA CAVE, mum of fatally stabbed teenager Chris Cave, is inviting schools and other youth organisations to sign up for a hard-hitting programme to try to prevent weapon-related crime.

POINT7 is designed to give young people a broader understanding of the often terrible and hurtful effects on the lives of family, friends and knife / gun crime victims.

The following video highlights the devastation and pain caused by knife and gun crime, and shows excerpts from the POINT7 initiative:



POINT7 is a Tilly award nominee and features on page 12 of ‘Tackling knife crime together - a review of local anti-knife crime projects’ a report orchestrated by Brooke Kinsella in 2011 stating the programme should be prevalent in all schools (Brooke is the sister of another young man, Ben Kinsella from London, killed in a knife attack).

More details about POINT7 programme, which is presented free, can be found on The Chris Cave Foundation website.

Youth violence and knife crime - a short film

EX-EASTENDERS actor Ray Panthaki has produced an anti-knife crime video to try to steer young people away from a culture of violence.

He produced it as a tribute to Ben Kinsella, the brother of former Eastenders actress Brooke Kinsella, after he was stabbed to death in London in June 2008.

“The film reflects what I witnessed. It was a family, one of the most loving families I have ever met, falling apart one by one. In the film I am trying to get across the effect on that family, that they each lost a part of them that day and they will never be the same again. That is the harsh reality.”

 

Youth street crime due to exclusion from society

WHATEVER someone's politics, I tend to take a closer look where they pick up on the themes represented by this anti-knife crime blog.

Here, Unite's General Secretary Len McCluskey picked out my thoughts that the country's riots in 2011 were caused by young people's exclusion from society and employment, similar to this blog's findings that many young people have little to aspire to, thus sometimes taking to the streets - and, tragically, to knife or other violent crime.

Here's an excerpt of his talk if you don't have time to watch the whole thing:

The 21st Century is not ringing out the death knell of the labour movement; it is sending out a call to arms. The apparently endless economic crisis which began in 2008 is seeing to that.
In 1992 Margaret Thatcher claimed, after the election of another Conservative Government, ‘It is a great night. It is the end of Socialism.’
A few years later Tony Blair declared ‘that the Class war is over’. No doubt from the boardroom of JP Morgan or wherever he is now, it may look that way.
John Prescott claimed “We’re all middle class now!”
But don’t worry, of course, the entire evolutionary human history of socialism and class was not eradicated by New Labour.
Would anyone – two and a half years into this Bullingdon Club Coalition – have the pomposity to claim that class has ceased to be an issue in politics today?
Of course this is not political reality; it is a tactic; it is political posturing.
It is used as false evidence that we have nothing left to fight for. It is part of the rhetoric fed to us that says we should not challenge the decisions taken by our elites.
We are taught to believe that democracy is the cornerstone of a modern civilised society; but our Lords and Masters want to define democracy, limiting us to an ‘X’ on a Ballot Paper every 5 years.
This is not my definition of democracy.
They tell us strike action, civil disobedience, direct action and protest are all somehow unpatriotic.
Our history tells us they are not.
That is because our rulers are deeply afraid of Ralph Miliband’s assertion that politics is about conflict.
They believe that, for example, those without hope, without jobs, now looking at cuts in their meagre welfare, that families being shunted out of London because of housing benefit changes should simply out up with it.
Wait for the next general election – that’s if they are registered to vote.
Well I note that some council leaders from our major cities have warned that people might respond with anger and civil disorder.
I would not be surprised. The one thing worse than suffering is suffering alone and in silence.
We have seen remarkable local protests in recent years: from 20,000 defending a hospital in Eastbourne; 15,000 on the streets in Lewisham to 350 people protesting against a library closure.
Look at the 2011 riots in England they exposed the growing ‘disconnect’ in a broken society.
But it was not without reason.
Young people spoke of their frustration at not being able to find employment.
They were excluded from society in the first instance, so what was there to lose?
Those events showed that at a certain level of inequality, the whole concept of “society” starts to be drained of meaning.
The labour movement, protest and working-class politics will continue far beyond the 21st century.
Be assured, protest against inequality is alive and well – look at the work done by UKuncut to challenge outrageous tax avoidance by Vodafone and other giant corporations.
Their message is – if you want to trade in Britain and benefit from our infrastructure and skilled workforce, then pay your taxes.
Last year protests focused on Starbucks.
Initially, of course, protestors faced hostility, vilification and attacks by the media.
But the truth is these tactics work.
When the right-wing media realised that these protestors were on to something, their attention then focused on Starbucks and what followed has been a remarkable public boycott of the company.
It takes courage to risk unpopularity and vilification. But the truth does prevail.
The labour movement’s message must be one of ‘hope’.
It must talk more about its victories and the positive future that it aspires to.
Britain is broken. But it is the system that is broken, not the people.
Trade unions and the labour movement must continue to give hope for a better way of doing things.
They must work to ‘educate – agitate – organise’.
I am proud to associate Unite with these initiatives, and to hope to form a longer-lasting alliance between organised labour and radical protest, even if it comes from outside our traditional movement.
And, as I have made clear before in relation to the trade union laws, while I do not ever advocate violence, nor do I preach worship of the law at all costs.
So my message to capitalism – if you can send a message to a system – is this: Mend your ways or risk mounting social breakdown and disorder.

Poverty and the young - search for knife crime solutions part 3

ANOTHER solution area worth exploring is the alleged severe and demonising way we treat young people in Britain. By punishing those who have yet to learn to be an effective part of the country, their community, we make them more dysfunctional - and we fear them more when they don't conform. And then (in the UK) we criminalise them, arresting them for, say, hanging out. In Finland they take a different approach by working in a proactive way, working a system of systematic care for their young... while the UK is pretty roundly condemned across the world for its attitudes to youth.

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has remarked on 'the general climate of intolerance and negative attitudes towards children, especially adolescents, which appears to exist in the UK, including in the media, and may be often the underlying cause of further infringements of their rights'. Interesting and thought provoking, possibly indicating poor government rule, poor childrens policies + politics, poor parenting across this nation, poor environments many have to live in, and clear prejudice + resentment among adults towards young people.

Adults seem to be afraid to look in the mirror, transferring their hidden psychological ills and failed lives and communities on to 'the young' for simply walking about. That said, maybe adults are merely a product of their difficult backgrounds as they grew up and this 'dog-eat-dog' work environment that many of us seem to bound up in. Sometimes I think some existence in this country - especially when caught up in drunken violence and street, gang + knife crime - is what is meant when life is described as 'hell on earth'!

A final most noteworthy issue in my reflections on developing solutions to knife crime comes from, among others, the World Health Organisation. Apparently, obvious poverty is not linked to violence; in fact, it's relative deprivation that is the causal link. The WHO reports that rising income inequality in Europe has resulted in an increase in numbers of murders.

And that, bearing in mind the current strong focus on tackling dodgy bankers, bullying businesses and the super-rich, makes one applaud the political and media drive to nail down those corrupt and flawed elements of capitalism that are making everyone's lives worse.

WHO reports: "Overall, good evidence indicates that violence among young people can be prevented through the organised efforts of society... And the evidence base is much stronger for interventions that adopt a public health rather than criminal justice approach, and for those that reduce risk factors and strengthen protective factors among young people early in life than for measures that seek to reduce violent behaviour once it has already emerged."

Interesting - have you noticed there are many medical conditions for young people these days? Maybe an unspoken drive by world medics to manage the murder / violence risk? Very speculative, I guess, but food for thought. 

Anyway... starting to concluding this reflective mini 'essay', good progress has pretty obviously been made highlighting the issues of knife crime and other violence to the country. And there are clearly many individuals and groups (especially those directly affected by knife crime) who have worked in local communities - and are active now - to make a difference for the public good. It is relatively clear that some reductions in knife crime have been made, at least at times. Without doubt, many are motivated to solve the problems of violence.

And so, where to now...? 

Real in-roads must be made to drive down the average violent deaths carried out daily on British streets... from two a day by, say, a third (that would be a reduction in killings of about four or five a week). Can we do that by 2020 or sooner?

That would be a real success measure of initiatives started around the start of this millennium. Don't know to be honest; feels like an ambitious goal - but no politician or government has shown the public courage, commitment or initiative to set it, as far as I have observed, so maybe it's left to the knife crime and anti-violence campaigners to do so. We can but try. Onwards...

Solutions to the knife crime menace in the UK: part 1

WHAT progress has been made tackling knife crime in the years since this blog started? I've taken a little time out to reflect on the situation over the summer holidays... hope these reflections and evaluations prove useful.

In the book 'Britain etc', the journalist Mark Easton (Home Editor at the BBC) reports a stark but simple truth about the latest knife crime facts: "As a rough average, two people are murdered every day in Britain. The most common weapon used is a blade or other sharp instrument. The most likely stab victim is a young man." In fact, a third of all murders are caused by some kind of blade or other stabbing implement.

So, in a very clear way, that brings us right up to date with the knife crime statistics - and very terrible they are too.

So, more reflectively, my first blog post was published a few months after the fatal stabbing of Jacky Marshall, a supervisor in a McDonalds restaurant at Chichester, West Sussex, England, on a Saturday lunchtime in April 2005 when children's fun and parties were in full swing.

I was a witness who went to try to help the victim, cradling a fatally injured Jacky in my arms as her life ebbed away. It was most devastating to her family and traumatising for many, not least this anti-knife crime blog writer. The Crown's case against the killer Shane Freer was not yet begun and I had decided to try to make a difference to the wider national debate and deliberations about knife crime by starting a blog that provided focus on forming solutions and gave some kind of coherent outlet for the outpourings and anguish of those affected by this scourge of the nation.

At that time I recall an undercurrent of awareness about quite frequent knife attacks and a powerlessness to address what was sensed as a kind of invisible evil. Media attention was certainly less attentive and highly reactive. High profile cases, for example the horrendous deaths of Stephen Lawrence, Damilola Taylor and Ben Kinsella, expressed national as well as local outrage - but there was possibly not the highest appropriate focus on addressing the depraved violence that was, and continues to be, a sickening hallmark of all knife crime across the nation - and of course mostly any kind of violent attack.

The parents of Stephen Lawrence parents pursued justice for their slaughtered son pretty much all the time this blog has run - see Stephen's timeline for justice. Similarly, the parents of Damilola Taylor have campaigned for solutions to problems in inner city communities (see the Damilola Taylor trust website). And then there was the Kinsella family campaigning and the formation of The Ben Kinsella Trust, led by his actress sister Brooke.

In addition to these, there are the many other victims, equally innocent and no less deserving of public attention. Pictures of many (from London) can be seen on this knife crime blog post.

And so, where are we now - really?

I've observed many groups and families affected by such crime; as well as obvious grief and a desire for comfort, they search I've noticed (sometimes unconsciously) for some kind of focal point to best channel their grief to solve the devastation of a killing that has afflicted their lives and lives of friends, relatives and of people within their local communities. They look for some kind of societal and national unity, some kind of common group, banner or standard to rally around. With this, families and friends of victims across the country - perhaps the world - would feel they can make better progress together to deter aggressive, violent, weapon-carrying behaviour. 

I've observed Government clumsily offering a little solace and resource to help. I've seen too that Government, as in many other areas, fail to properly measure, better understand and communicate about the violence issue. And yet, obviously, Government is full of people with concern and good intentions.

So how to stop the killing, the maiming with blades - or indeed with any weapon? How much closer is a solution, or achieving synergy across a variety of suggested solutions and initiatives?

My view is there is now much greater understanding about where solutions could be found. More research and knowledge about the causes of knife crime are available. But I think many campaigners and communities need to work out how to arrive at solutions more quickly. That's not a criticism; it's more about moving towards the common goal of eliminating knife crime, as much as possible, in parallel with all other campaigning. Possibly greater leadership is needed to bring all this together, perhaps more objective leaders who can help bring together all those different anti-violence initiatives, groups and individuals, and national + local officials.

Look for areas where significant differences can be made. For example, most murders are 'male-on-male', confrontational or grudge/revenge killings. 

Confrontational might typically be about a couple of alcohol-fuelled lads not intent on killing the other (initially). So reducing fights and alcohol use on Saturday nights makes sense with many police and pub security staff always involved here providing deterrents most weekends. (More killings occur on Saturdays than Mondays!) If only young men would drink more responsibly, then our streets and drinking holes would not be so fearsome at nights.

Grudge killings however tend to be premeditated and weapons are carried to the scene, frequently linked to gangs with boys and teenaged men aged 10 to 19. Some 13% of these 'gangsters' have carried knives in the previous year, according to research. Killings happen due to being 'dissed' - disrespected, disparaged, or simply feeling treated with such contempt. 

These people really need to 'grow up' in this tough, modern world, take some personal responsibility for their lives and actions - but they can't seem to deal with 'tough' - they prefer silencing problems with weapons; it seems an easier solution.

But you can't say that to them perhaps... it would be likely to make things worse.

And of course, what this country's business and political leaders offer as an alternative to aggressive weapon-carriers doesn't appear that appealing or palatable i.e. hard work with no guarantee of decent wages, pension, reasonable prices, decent home, affordable taxes etc. And not forgetting corrupt banks, greedy psychopathic corporations, bullying workplaces and the like. And not forgetting too, research tells us, the 'dog-eat-dog' work environment as dictated by business, political and local leaders, especially in the UK. It's a world many do not want, do not want to participate in (especially young men). There's little in it for them. Using a knife or a gun with violence brings some control to some people's lives, it seems.

In my next post I reflect on the knife crime statistics in more detail and also examine in a fairly broad sense the causes of knife crime, specifically poverty. Check back here when you get chance. Thanks for reading.

Trek For Ben Kinsella gala night raised £35k-plus

One of the event's organisers, actress Brooke Kinsella, has announced that the Trek For Ben Gala at Gilgamesh  at the end of June raised more than £35,000 for The Ben Kinsella Trust.


"Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who came and supported. That money will allow us to do so much good work in Ben's name so thank you, thank you, thank you xxx," said Brooke.


It was June 29 2008 when Kinsella's 16-year-old brother, Ben, was killed by a gang of three youths in London. He had been out celebrating the end of GCSE exams with friends in Shillibeers Brasserie Bar, North Road, when trouble broke out and later spilled on to a nearby street. See Wikipedia piece on Ben Kinsella for more information.


The Ben Kinsella Trust is organising a range of fund-raising events to help fund anti-knife crime initiatives. For details, visit the Ben Kinsella Trust web pages and Facebook accounts.

Remembering grieving mothers on Mothering Sunday

It is a tragedy that many mums today will be grieving the loss of their children as a result of knife crime, shooting or other violent act (glassing perhaps or from sickening punches).

In the last century, Mothering Sunday was when young people in domestic service (apparently about half the employed UK population) would return home.

They would go to the church where they were baptised (their 'mother' church) before visiting their families and bringing a gift to their mothers.

Today is a popular time for saying "thank you" (and "love you") to mums who have given us life and our first love.

For many mothers though, their loved son or daughter is not coming home today. Tragically, death at the hands of a criminal fool (or fools) has separated them. We remember these killings and the misery they have wrought, as ever   :'-(  and we continue to work for change.

Killing of my brother, by Tom Cave - aged 9

Toying with the idea of using violence today? Using a knife or a gun? Think on young Tom's message...


"I was three when they stabbed him.

"Mam told me he had gone on a train to the sky.

"The 'kids' told me there was lots of blood everywhere...

"My mam tells me to 'share' my thoughts and i do. Now i am nine and i understand exactly what happened to my brother and i can deal with it because i shared my thoughts and questions with mam.

"I find it better to cope with now as even though i loved him i can hardly remember him so its easy for me to cope.

"I will never have another brother because they stole my future when they murdered my brother. Don't be like me - sad, lonely and angry and confused as to who i am because you would not like it at all.

"I am lucky i have life and love and my mam who's got lots of memories to keep my brother alive in my head - my heart is his.

"Please dont kill because you can live a good life because you too are loved by many."

         ... from: Tom Cave (aged 9).

Tom's mum, Theresa Cave, has become part of an impactful knife and gun crime programme called Point 7 which has been building steady support in the UK.

Theresa set up a proactive memorial group - the Chris Cave Foundation (on Facebook) - to remember her son, beaten and killed in a stabbing, as well as campaign against knife and other violent crime.

She describes the Point 7 programme, which she and Tom have been involved with, as "wonderfully impactful" and "very much in demand".

She said: "The presentation consists of films, true experiences, weaponry and their uses in the streets - and professionals such as the paramedics, youth offending teams and police come together to present what I would say is the most impactive, hard-hitting, lasting memory of the consequences that are to be had choosing a life of violent crime.

"Point 7 show the most serious and brutal of wounds to actual victims and even animals. Knife and guns are on show and debates take place between the young people present.

"True life stories and heart wrenching results are always to be had with this presentation given freely by this wonderfully expert team of professional people dedicated to the cause and to the youths of today."

Read Press coverage about the Point 7 anti-knife crime / anti-violence programme (the Sunday Sun)

The presentation is available to adult organisations and agencies accross the country and training is on offer to anyone wanting it. Toolkits are available (soon) and the workshops are in six parts.

For anyone wishing to know more about this anti-knife crime, anti-gun, anti violence programme, please call 01642 498451 or 07981 991482 for more information.

Daence, music, no knives and no crime - ever?

"If you have a knife in your pocket you'll end up using it"... runs the promo line on Facebook group 'You Have A Choice'.

'Don't Shank Just Skank' - Adam Deacon talks knives and knife crime (www.itdoesnthavetohappen.co.uk)

Adulthood and Kidulthood star points out there are other options in life rather than picking up / carrying a knife. Knives and professionalism don't mix. "Don't Shank Just Skank" - out now. Worth buying to help maybe.

Anne Frank and the Stephen Lawrence stabbing

Anne Frank... recognise that name? Today, the full impact of murder most foul, undescribable evil - and knife crime - hit home in a powerful way. Anne was the German Jewish teenager killed by the Nazi machine in World War Two.

I saw the full horror of the Holocaust in just a few words and evocative images of an era not so long ago - when human beings slaughtered others because they were Jewish, or judged to not be as able-bodied as others.

It was shocking and made me angry inside.

You know, Nazis or concentration camp 'staff' threw poison crystals into the shower areas that vaporised into poisonous gas that took up to 20 minutes to kill all in the those showers?

What sort of person, gang - or political faction - does that?

For some reason, I understood why men and women in Britain took up arms to defend our people from such despicable activities by the Nazi regime - and other sick-minded folk, no doubt.

Where was all this revealed? Would you believe it was at an exhibition in my home town, Chichester, in a small corner of quiet place where people can reflect. I saw the history of the Holocaust brought to terrible life alongside the writings and daily activities of a virtually imprisoned Anne Frank.

Then the exhibition confronts some of the worrying social issues confronting modern Britain today including knife crime, gun crime and racism.

A memorial to Stephen Lawrence, the young black teenager believed to have been killed by white racists, rests on one wall of the display, testament to a quite peaceful fight for justice this country has rarely seen.

Anne Frank wrote in her diary: “I want to go on living even after my death!”

And so she is - her thoughts are working their way through the whole world via this exhibition and the Internet.

Anne Frank is a symbol of the millions of innocent children who have been victims of persecution. Anne's life shows us what can happen when prejudice and hatred go unchallenged.

Would you sign up to the Anne Frank Declaration:

Because prejudice and hatred harm us all, will you declare that...?

• You will stand up for what is right and speak out against what is unfair and wrong.
• You will try to defend those who cannot defend themselves.
• You will strive for a world in which our differences will make no difference – a world in which everyone is treated fairly and has an equal chance in life.

To understand more about her, see the Anne Frank Trust UK website - and think about how to challenge the prejudice and reduce hatred perpetuated by sick people who pick up knives and other weapons to destroy, maim or injure other human beings. You'll learn much more by visiting an Anne Frank exhibition - it would be great if someone puts it online.

When I criticise people who are racist, fighters, criminals, I know I make myself a target for potential malice and a vent for their irritation, even violent anger. My being a thorn in the side or a pain in the neck, however, is like nothing compared to a blade in the abdomen or a knife used to carve and disfigure a human body - or face.

Call to ban knife sales by Trading Standards

Hey, this is good news - Trading Standards getting involved with banning sales of knives... online.

"Trading standards chiefs have called for a blanket ban on the sale of knives over the internet. Online retailers have ignored repeated warnings to stop selling them to children, the Trading Standards Institute (TSI) said.

"Mystery shopper research found as many as four out of five online stores were prepared to sell knives to children aged under 18, and in one case a 15-year-old boy was able to purchase four knives, including a large machete, using a debit card..."

Read the full 'anti knife crime' story about the call for a ban on blade sales by TSI

(Don't forget to vote in the opinion poll on anti stab knives. Just vote in the box at the top of this website - it literally takes a second of your time.)

George Kinsella on knife crime and sentencing of his son Ben's killers - video

Thought I would try to piece together the full text of the emotional but careful and measured reaction from George Kinsella to the sentencing of the killers of his 16-year-old son Ben Kinsella.

To my mind, it was an insightful, informative perspective on this nation's knife crime problem.

I'll add and edit this post over a few days - I need to trawl the web's news sources, get it into reasonable shape and order. Feel free to send your comments or parts of the reaction that I may miss or not got quite right.

Mr Kinsella said: "How many families like ours will have to stand on the street outside the Old Bailey to get justice?

"Knife crime is now sadly embedded in the heart of Great Britain, always running the lives of gangs and feral youths.

"Parents live in fear until their children are safely home. It could be a wrong word, a wrong look or the wrong postcode.

"In Ben's case, it was something which was nothing to do with him at all."

Life sentences for Ben Kinsella's killers - video of reaction and comment from family and officials at the Old Bailey after the knife crime case.

Mothers Against Violence North East - Stabbing video and group info, links

Theresa Cave, organiser of Mothers Against Violence North East (MAV) - whose son Chris was stabbed to death in 2003 - has asked me to point people at her anti-violence group and some related links and video content.

First, here's her 'Stop the Stabbings' video, produced for the UK government's Home Office:



Join the Mothers Against Violence North East Facebook group.

Also, I'm adding MAVNE to the resource section of this blog.

Here's the note from Theresa:

"Hi Mark, just had a quick look on your blog page. I found it to be very good, don't know how I haven't seen it before. My name's Theresa Cave (Mothers against Violence North East) and I wondered if you would add us to your page.

"Please take a look at the groups page and other groups I have also gone too. I have campaigned against knife crime since 2003 when I lost my son to the knife aged 17.

"It is a long hard fight which I feel needs more attention now more than ever although it has dropped ever so slightly of late in this area. I would like to know more about your work if it is possible and would like to invite you to see the campaign video that I did for the Home Office in the 'It Doesnt Have To Happen' campaign last year.

"The video is on YouTube Home Office site under 'Stop the Stabbings'. I also did the radio ad that is out now nationally.

"I feel very deeply on the subject and would welcome any advice / help you can offer me. I work around with youth in schools, colleges and uni and also have talked in attendance centres and the likes.

"If you know of any youth groups / organisations that would like me to visit them please let me know as distance to me is not an issue but getting the word across is a big one. Thanks for your time - hope to hear from you - bye, Theresa Cave."

And for your info, here's my reply. If anyone else is interested in posting information about their groups here, feel free to contact me:

"Hi Theresa - I'm just posting some info about your group on my blog - http://knifecrime.blogspot.com. Do add a link to the blog from your site - it all helps get the word round etc.

"It is always upsetting when people get in touch about the death of a loved one from knife crime or other violence. I'm deeply sorry you lost Chris to this knife scourge we seem to be plagued with.

"I started this blog as a memorial to Jacky Marshall, a McDonalds manager I went to help when she was fatally stabbed on a Saturday lunchtime at Chichester. I also hoped - and still work to achieve - that the site could develop into a useful vehicle for effecting positive change in a UK culture seemingly obsessed by violence, at least at times.

"My time is limited and I do what I can. It's a gradual, drip, drip, drip approach. Personally, I think the campaign work you describe is excellent - by pressing on the way you have been is all about being part of 'the solution'. Don't wear yourself out, remember to conserve your energy as you chip away.

"As I come across people, groups, news, networks, initiatives etc I add the information to this blog. Keep an eye on it - sign up to regular emails in the box on the right hand side of the blog. I'll certainly point people in your direction, as and when.

"My mum's family are all from the north east - I know Redcar quite well and my Gran lives in Staithes, near Whitby! Small world! My thoughts and prayers are with you.

"Best wishes, Mark."

Knife crime - text a stabber, Calzaghe + UK children report

Knife crime hasn't been at the top of the media agenda for that long. When I started this blog almost three years ago, coverage was minimal (you may be surprised to know). Now, Google is full of knife crime issues and reporting.

This is terrific progress - observing the media spotlight being shined into all areas of the problem ensures the knife, gun and related violent crime debate is at the centre of things.

Thought I would highlight three key stories of the moment:

• This one deserves endorsement - Shop a stabber with mobile phone texting. Imagine... passing on details of knife carriers with a simple SMS text. This was first covered on this blog early last year (see Crimestoppers post). It's starting to take off on a bigger scale now. Come on everyone, get texting!



• Boxer Joe Calzaghe is urging children to turn away from knife crime. Another celebrity figure joins the (peaceful) fight to try to stop youngsters using blades on UK streets.



• Finally, this blog has never diverted from the belief that there must be some societal change - not just a simple focus on campaigning to get knives out of criminals hands. Thought-provoking then that an insightful report highlights the issues that children face struggling to grow up into an adult society that marginalises young people, leaving some with the feeling that picking up a knife is the only way to achieve some control over their lives.


Selfish pursuit of success threatens children in the UK - this report highlights that children are being damaged by the individualist and self-centred society they are forced to grow up in. As well as problems with family life such as broken homes and growing up with lone parents (and even advertising and alcohol), the Children's Society study singles out the adult pursuit of selfish ambition as a key factor that harms young people.

More knife deaths - what to tell + teach the children?

More knife deaths this weekend - it's impossible to be unmoved (nor would we want to block out such emotions), even after years of writing this blog. In fact, to be honest, I'm always devastated by another killing or wounding - but it's a different scale to how it felt when Jacky Marshall died in my arms.

It's like there are two distinctions - one when you're involved in a stabbing or some kind of killing (perhaps this is the case in war too), and the other when you hear about it by news media, word of mouth, something like that. Very sad.

I was on holiday with my family last week. The kids club held a pirate fancy dress night and my two girls went straight for the eye patch, bandana - and plastic knife.

Remember, these were the two who were with my wife and I when knife-wielding killer Shane Freer rushed into the Chichester McDonalds and attacked Jacky.

So, they got these plastic knives and I found it unnerving as I examined quite an authentic looking fake blade. And kids were everywhere with 'em - pretend sword fighting, sneaky attacks, rolling on the floor.

I felt torn between wanting to stop it and then seeing this was just some fun play.

Now back at home, it does seem sinister that we let kids play this way. It's hardly fun to pretend to kill someone, yet kids do it all the time - war games, cowboys + indians, stuff they see on films etc.

But dramatic re-enaction can be a useful learning tool - though you need to debrief youngsters. My pirate fancy dress incident does highlight, I think, the importance of discussing knife and other weapon use with children at appropriate times.

It is wrong to kill or injure, except in self defence. And kids need to talk about that for it to sink in.

A friend of mine posted a comment to this blog - he doesn't allow his son to play with fake weapons, pointing out the issue is so serious that they are not things to be played with. Read his child knife crime post.

May eternal light shine upon the victims of violence this weekend - Connor Black (Manchester) and the 17-year-old Sri Lankan lad killed in Croydon (unnamed as I type this), and anyone else dying 'unnaturally' - such tragedies and accidents must be stopped, they are preventable.

And if anyone affected by knife crime reads this, do be reassured and comforted - if you can - that people are greatly concerned about this menace. There is much sorrow, frustration, unhappiness, but also determination, to try to stop this happening. From what I see now, much is underway to tackle a massive problem. I wish there was more I could say that could help you - but many of us do pray and press for change.

Student tackles knife crime issue at school

A teenager has written to this blog calling for changes in how knives are sold in the retail environment - as well as broader issues including knives used to protect young people from bullies.

I'm placing it as a formal blog entry to show how strongly and emotively that smart young people feel about this issue, not forgetting they too will work, run and vote in the UK in years to come.

Thanks Hannah - why not encourage friends and teachers who were affected by your drama performance to contribute their thoughts here? Going forward, I'll be putting this 'living petition' blog in front of MPs, police etc - and anyone else readers and contributors can think of. Simply - write your ideas, your feelings here.

Hannah's blog post:

"My name is Hannah - I'm a 14-year-old girl from Havant near to where the terrible incident happened in the Chichester Gate McDonalds.

"Although I had nothing to do with this, I feel strongly about the issue. Last year in my drama lesson at school, we were preparing a piece for a drama performance evening. Our class chose to do Theatre In Education - meaning that we have to educate the audience with our pieces.

"My idea was Knife Crime in schools, and how children bring knives into school for protection from bullies. It was a subject that touched the hearts of all of the audience - which is what we intended - and they came away knowing more about Knife Crime.

"Although most other groups chose to do something normal like drugs or sex, I chose Knife Crime because I think it's a very serious matter and people my age need to be told about it.

"Something needs to be done NOW before it gets worse, and more people die. Shops need to STOP selling knives asap... otherwise more fatalities will happen.

"Please help Mark and me to stop knife crime now."