Knife campaign continues in wake of fatal stabbing

Police have said they will continue their "zero tolerance for knife crime" after three stabbings were reported in the midst of a campaign against the trend.

Bedfordshire Police is investigating the fatal stabbing of a man in his 50s in the Farley Hill area of Luton on Thursday, and there were incidents in George Street and McDonald's on Chalk End Lane on Monday.

At the start of August, the Knife Angel – a 27ft-tall sculpture made from 100,000 blades – was unveiled in St George’s Square, metres from where one of the recent stabbings took place.

Supt Lee Haines said: "We are absolutely committed to continuing our work, alongside our partners, to drive down knife crime across the county."

He added: "There is simply no excuse for violence of this nature and I would like to reinforce our zero tolerance for knife crime."

In July, incidents in Bedfordshire involving knives and bladed articles fell by 20% year-on-year, while serious violence involving young people fell by 10%.

Montell Nefville, the founder and managing director of Att10tive, a social justice and community campaigner in the town, said: "One of the important things is to raise the importance of knife and gang crime so that we can deter people from getting involved and talk to them about the solutions.

"The Knife Angel doesn't stop knife crime itself. It's an awareness raising tool to start a conversation to get people to talk about it, to get organisations to put it at the top of their agenda, to get all the schools and colleges to understand they're not alone."

The Knife Angel "is a sombre but important reminder of those who have lost their lives to knife crime and the work still to be done", Supt Haines said.

"This requires a united response, and our continued plea to the community is to support us."

He urged anyone with information about any of the recent stabbings to report it to police or to contact Crimestoppers anonymously.

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