Surrey Charity: "If it isn't a ninja sword or a zombie knife, it's a baseball bat."
A year on from the zombie knife ban, Martin Cosser, who lost his son to knife crime, says that it's essential to address the root of the problem
Today marks a year since the implementation of the zombie knife ban, however according to the founder of a Surrey-based charity, these bans are unable to tackle the root of the problem of knife-crime.
Charlie's Promise was founded by Martin Cosser after his son was murdered in July 2023. It aims to use his and his family's experience to raise awareness about the devastation caused by knife crime.
The zombie knife ban that was introduced last year aimed to reduce knife crime by removing these large weapons off the streets. Martin says that although it's great to have these weapons off the street, these bans don't tackle the root of the problem
"If it isn't a ninja sword or a zombie knife, it's a baseball bat. It's the person behind. It's the culture that we now live in. The knife that killed my little boy was no more than 3 inches long and he lost every milligram blood in his body."
Martin says that the way that knives and knife crime are presented to young people is a serious factor in why it's a problem
"You only need to look at the drill music scene where we glorify knife crime. We're glorifying it through music, through video games, violence constantly, all the time.
We live in a country where knife crime has grown 84% in 10 years, yet we still can't get knife crime education onto the syllabus in schools.
How can we in a country where knife crime's grown so much and it's become a real problem, almost an epidemic. How are we not educating our children? Why do schools still have a choice?"
Fearless is a service that allows people to anonymously report knife carries that Martin says he wishes more people knew about. He says that if people were to use it, they could very well save a life
Martin says that too many people have the idea that carrying a knife will keep them safe
"A lot of young people will tell you they carry knives for protection. Well, I'm here to tell them now they are 65% more likely to be stabbed. Most people, in fact, that lose their life to knife crime are knife carriers. It's a suicide mission. It doesn't protect you.
They may be in a county lines gang, and they carry knives because they think it protects them. It actually endangers them. But again, how do they know all of this? They find this out through the power of education."
Martin's son Charlie was murdered in July 2023 at a house party in Sussex. Martin described to us the impact this has had on him and his family's life
"I'm passionate because my little boy did not deserve to die. He wouldn't have had an argument with anyone. And I want the world to know who he is. I want his legacy to be saving lives and stopping other families from living as mine does. And and I can't tell you what our world is like. It is awful.
My wife still sleeps with the light on. She still messages my little boy to tell him she loves him every day, even though his phone's in a box in the room with the last clothes he ever wore. My daughter was 15 when she watched her brother die. 15 years old.
I'm not saying this for anyone to feel sorry for me, but what I'm trying to say is no one sees behind those closed doors. There are families that are absolutely devastated and destroyed, and I will do whatever it takes in my little boy's name to make sure that that less families have to experience what we experience every minute of every day."