Hard-hitting Teesside campaign launched to deter young people from carrying a blade
The campaign – Carrying a Blade Doesn’t Give You an Edge – focuses on two children whose lives are both impacted and changed forever by knife crime.
One child is the victim of a knife attack and the other is the perpetrator committing the crime.
Both are living their daily lives and going to school, until one day it all changes and the boys disappear to an entirely different life – one child has died after being stabbed with a blade and the other is in prison for committing the crime.
It hopes to encourage young people to understand the dangers and devastating consequences of carrying blades.
This is the second part of the force’s knife crime prevention campaign Carrying a Blade Doesn’t Give You an Edge which originally launched in October 2023.
In the last 12 months – October 2023 to October 2024 – a knife has been involved in the killing of six people in Teesside.
Between October 2023 to October 2024 police received 503 reports of violence with injury that involved a blade. 154 of those offences involved young people aged 14 to 24 and who were victims of a crime involving a blade.
Assistant Chief Constable, Richard Baker said: “This phase of the campaign is a hard-hitting and true reality for young people. In the blink of an eye, following a bad decision to carry a knife, young lives can change forever.
"Evidence is clear that a child that carries a knife is more likely to become a victim of knife crime, whether that’s being seriously injured, or worse lose their life. If they themselves use the knife the reality is they will get caught and then face a substantial amount of time in prison.
“We want young people to stop and think about how they would feel if they were sent to prison, away from family and friends for seriously hurting or even killing someone else.
“There is a lot of hard work ongoing behind the scenes to ensure that we are making further progress in reducing knife crime and serious violence across Teesside.
“In order to continue preventing young people from carrying a blade we require collaboration and innovation with partners and communities and education on the dangers and devastating consequences of knife crime. We also need support from parents and carers and encourage them to speak to their children on the risks involved.
“As officers, we know it is vital we are visible in our neighbourhoods and get to know all corners of our community. We are also working to fully understand all of the contributing factors that often lead young people to carry a blade or cause serious violence.
“There are many agencies and charities who can provide support to keep young people away from knife crime, violence or drugs. This may include a referral to the Youth Offending Team who provide a range of services including finding ways to move away from a criminal life, build self esteem and confidence and look at mental health related issues.
“This will all contribute to reducing knife-crime related violence among young people in our community and make Teesside an even safer place for young people to live and work both now and in the future.”
You can find more information about Carrying a Blade Doesn’t Give You an Edge and what Cleveland Police is doing to prevent knife crime as well as how you can seek help to move away from it here Carrying a blade doesn't give you an edge | Cleveland Police