Call for stricter knife crime punishment on anniversary of Liverpool schoolgirl's murder
Ava White was stabbed in Liverpool City Centre on 25 November 2021
Two years to the day since the murder of Liverpool schoolgirl Ava White, her mum is calling for stricter punishments for adults AND children who carry knives.
Ava, 12, was stabbed in the neck by another teenager in Liverpool City Centre.
It happened moments after the Christmas Lights switch-on.
Her killer was 15 when he was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum term of 13 years.
Merseyside Police are trialling new powers that allows officers to stop and search adults who are given a court order for carrying a weapon.
Leeann White wants this trial to cover teenagers too.
Leeann said:
"We need more of a deterrent in the beginning. I think we need to put knife crime in the same category as gun crime.
"At the end of the day, they're both weapons and they're both used to kill.
"Ava's murderer was 14 and if the age (of the trial) was lowered, he would have been stop and searched that night as he was known to Merseyside Police.
"Maybe if the punishment was a bit stronger, kids would think twice about putting a knife in their pocket."
The Ava White Foundation was set up in Ava's memory to do everything possible to bring an end to knife crime.
The charity has been fundraising to install bleed control kits across Merseyside and to bring anti-knife crime educational talks to schools across Liverpool.
Leeann added:
"We're just in the end stages of finalising our presentation as we want it to be as strong as possible to show the children the effects and the dangers of using a knife.
"We still donate bleed control kits and training to anyone who wants to help reduce knife crime.
"As proven, these kits work and have saved five lives since May 2022."