Kate Kniveton, Member of Parliament for Burton and Uttoxeter has today (14/03/23) taken part in a Westminster Hall debate on knife crime in the West Midlands. The debate, which was called by the Member of Parliament for Stourbridge, Suzanne Webb, was an opportunity for regional MPs to raise their concerns about knife crime with the Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire, Chris Philp MP.
The Burton MP raised the importance of early interventions and education in establishing a solution to tackling knife crime. As part of Ms Kniveton’s intervention, the Burton MP praised the efforts of the Street Whyze Project and its Founder, Danny Mondesir, for its delivery of knife crime awareness sessions in local schools and community groups.
Following several knife crime incidents, in the constituency and on the Staffordshire/Derbyshire border in late 2021, Kate Kniveton has held multiple roundtable meetings of local community leaders, including Mr Mondesir, to secure support for a multi-agency solution to knife crime, including schools and the police amongst others. This approach has been welcomed by national politicians and local community policing and is now being seen as practice to be shared more widely.
Commenting, Kate Kniveton MP said:
“Today in Westminster I took part in a debate on knife crime in the West Midlands. I was pleased to highlight the fantastic outreach work the Street Whyze Project is doing in Burton and Uttoxeter, and across the Midlands, delivering awareness sessions in schools, hospitals and prisons on the dangers of knife crime.
“I know from the roundtables I have hosted on this issue, and speaking with local teachers and police officers, just how beneficial the sessions Danny delivers are and the positive influence they are having on our young people. We must share best practice more widely and I look forward to future roundtable events.”
