Knife crime has been the topic for a series of assemblies at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Penrith. PCSO Dean Raine, accompanied by colleagues from Penrith police station, has spoken to every year group over the past fortnight to tell students about the impact of carrying and using knives.
PCSO Raine began his talk by reassuring students that his role in school was not to scare them but to give them information to help keep them safe.
Most students were already aware of the term “knife crime” and understood that it is an offence to carry a knife. There was a short discussion of some of the reasons why someone might carry a knife and PCSO Raine described carrying one as “stupid”.
He told the students that knife crime is not just a problem in London or Manchester but in Penrith and the surrounding villages too. He described some recent cases of knife crime in Penrith, which had resulted in prison sentences for the offenders. PCSO Raine outlined the recent case of a Penrith teenager, who has been sentenced to 4 months in prison for knife crime, and the consequences his conviction will have for the rest of his life.
Jess Graham, year 7, said: “Once I saw a gang with big knives being arrested on the Tube in London – it was really scary. I thought Penrith was a small, safe community; it’s shocking to find out that knife crime is happening here.”
PCSO Raine’s address ended with the message that if you do see anyone with a knife, you should get away to a safe place and ring the police. He reassured students that they could ring the police anonymously if they wanted to. Students were urged not to carry knives at all and were told that just carrying a knife without a good reason, or bringing one to school, would mean prison.
Deputy Headteacher, Mrs Rebecca Chapman, said: “These assemblies have been very timely, after the tragic deaths from knife crime that have been in the news recently. We take our responsibility to keep our students safe extremely seriously and although this is a topic that can be scary, we feel it is vital to tackle it head-on. Making students aware of the issues and consequences of knife crime does improve their safety. We are very grateful to PCSO Raine and his colleagues for making time to come into school.”
