Norfolk mum of boy fatally stabbed in Ipswich calls for holistic approach against knife crime
It will be illegal to possess, sell, make or import ninja swords from August 1st
The Norfolk mum of a boy stabbed to death in Ipswich is telling us that only a holistic and multi-pronged approach against knife-crime will effectively, and quickly, tackle the issue.
Selling, carrying, making or buying a ninja sword will be made illegal from the summer - under new Government measures, that would see those caught with these blades put behind bars.
"Otherwise how are you going to tackle this effectively?"
Margaret Oakes lost her son Raymond James Quigley in 2023.
He was murdered in Ipswich by two teenagers who are currently in prison:
"We need need young people to be educated on the dangers of knife crime from a very young age.
"We need all the measures designed to tackle these illegal blades to come out at once.
"We need harder jail sentences on those who use these knifes to hurt and kill others, along with more prison officers.
"We need to do all of this and put it together. Otherwise how are you going to tackle this effectively?"
The announcement in more detail:
It will be illegal to possess, sell, make or import the weapon from August 1 as the final part of anti-knife crime measures introduced under Ronan's Law, named after Ronan Kanda.
His mother, Pooja Kanda, has campaigned for a law change after her 16-year-old son was yards away from his Wolverhampton home when he was murdered with a ninja sword in 2022.
The move to ban the blades will be laid before Parliament on Thursday and will come into force in the summer once it has gained approval in Parliament.
Ms Kanda said: "Today marks a very important day for us as a family and our campaign.
"Since losing our beautiful boy Ronan, we have relentlessly campaigned for a ban on ninja swords - the lethal weapon which took his life.
"We believe ninja swords have no place in our society other than to seriously harm and kill.
"Each step towards tackling knife crime is a step towards getting justice for our boy Ronan."
Anyone caught with a ninja sword in private could face six months in prison, set to increase to two years under plans in the Crime and Policing Bill.
The weapons can be handed over in knife-surrender bins or local police stations under a surrender scheme running in July.
No ninja swords bought after Thursday will be eligible for compensation as part of efforts to stop exploitation of the scheme, the Home Office said.
Under Ronan's Law, the Home Office has also announced a raft of measures including making retailers report bulk or suspicious sales to police, and increasing the jail sentence for selling weapons to children, or illegal blades such as zombie knives, to two years.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "We are acting with urgency to bring forward measures to prevent deadly weapons from getting into the wrong hands and will continue to do whatever is needed to prevent young people being killed on our streets as part of our mission to halve knife crime over the next decade."
The Government is also set to consult on introducing a licensing scheme for retailers who want to sell knives in the spring.
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