TOUGH new guidelines for sentencing business operators convicted of selling blades to children have been backed by Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness.

Two local families left devastated by knife crime have supported Kim’s views as part of their ongoing campaigning to end violence. Her comments have been made as part of a national consultation on the sale of knives to persons under 18.

Young mum Samantha Madgin was stabbed to death in Wallsend in 2007, and teenager Connor Brown’s life was tragically cut short on a night out in Sunderland City Centre in 2019.

Both families set up their own charities Samantha’s Legacy and The Connor Brown Trust to help raise awareness of the dangers of carrying knives and to offer support to other victims of such crimes.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, said: “The very idea that some young people, up and down the country, are choosing to arm themselves with knives is a concern to us all. It’s only right that we focus efforts on who is selling them and how this is being punished. How are blades ending up in the hands of children?

“Retailers must recognise their responsibility to help keep communities safe and the role they can play in taking knives and other weapons off our streets. The less knives out there in pockets, the more lives we save.

“Every police officer will tell you that knife crime is not a problem we can arrest our way out of. Education plays such a crucial part in the fight against serious violence and the sale of these knives needs to also be a national priority.

“Clear guidance and tough punishments are much needed, particularly for larger retailers as evidence shows that it is these larger organisations who have been responsible for most sales. And so, I’ve welcomed the opportunity to respond to this consultation on behalf of the North East. We’re one of the safest regions. And, thankfully, we have lower levels of knife crime than many comparative areas. But we have had our share of horrific cases – tragic reminders that knife crime is real and that we must do everything we can to fight this crime.”

Carly Barrett, Samantha’s sister from Samantha’s Legacy, said: “Retail stores should never sell knives or any bladed articles that could cause harm when the buyer is under-age. We think this campaign is vital to today’s society as we see more and more victims of serious violent Crime. However, some retails stores, supermarkets etc should be provided with some basic training so they are able to identity those they believe are buying these knives to cause harm.”

Samantha’s mum Alison, Madgin, added: “It is not just about the age of those buying the knives but also identifying the people that could cause harm to others. We hope to see an increase in this law and see more support around this. Together we can all make a difference and help support this knife crime pandemic and ultimately save lives.”

Connor Brown’s mum Tanya Brown who set up the Connor Brown Trust, said: “The team behind the Connor Brown Trust are guided by the strength of the community and it is the community we want to protect from knife crime. We need everyone to be aware of the dangers of young people carrying knives, so we need to address the sale of knives to these young people.  message to all retailers is to think carefully as to whether you need to stock knives in general and who will be purchasing these knives, as well as what measures are in place to ensure knives are sold responsibly. Our youth today is our future tomorrow and we need to protect them.”

Northumbria Police carries out a large range of operations to tackle knife crime and the Northumbria Violence Reduction Unit is at heart of knife crime awareness raising work throughout the region.

More information on the Sentencing Council’s national consultation can be found here.

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Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness has announced £220,000 worth of interventions will be rolled out by her Violence Reduction Unit as part of plans to fight and prevent crime this winter.

As part of determined efforts to prevent serious violence in the North-East, the Violence Reduction Unit has drawn up a programme of work which includes targeted interventions and activities to tackle the root causes of crime.

Plans will focus on working with those causing the most disruption in communities and will aim to divert them away from crime with positive opportunities.

The Violence Reduction Unit successfully ramped up activity over the summer in a bid to stop spikes in violence and keep people safe. This involved more patrols and more youth workers engaging with young people over the Jubilee weekend and at iconic events such as the famous Newcastle Hoppings.

Although serious violence has been on the rise this year, levels dropped by 12.2% in August thanks to targeted interventions, more youth workers and diversionary activities for young people, reinforcing the Violence Reduction Unit’s approach of working closely with partners such as Police, local councils and youth organisations, to prevent crime from happening.

The impact of this work has led to identifying perpetrators as well as young people at risk of becoming involved in crime and preventing anti-social behaviour to help communities feel safer.

Chairing the Violence Reduction Unit’s quarterly strategic board meeting this month, PCC Kim McGuinness welcomed the plans outlined to mitigate a rise in serious violence over the winter months. At the board, the following preventative measures were agreed:

• Targeted programmes in place to identify and work with individuals causing the most significant harm in Newcastle and Gateshead.
• A team to be operational in Newcastle, engaging with young people, as well as having a specific focus on key events throughout the winter months.
• Gateshead will continue to have police patrols in identified areas as well as targeted activities to engage young people around key dates. A community safety team will also focus on adult-related ASB and alcohol-related domestic abuse.
• In North Tyneside, young people will be engaged in activities that divert them from crime as well as signposting support. Plain-clothes police operations will also take place to address peer group violence and the carrying of knives.
• Patrols, outreach work and activities to be delivered in hotspot areas by a dedicated team in South Tyneside.
• A team will be deployed in identified areas of Northumberland, to engage with young people, as well as in developing projects to improve environments.
• Sunderland will expand on the work delivered in the summer, with further activity to take place as part of its city-wide operational plans for the darker nights.

All staff involved in delivering this crucial work are required to undertake the Violence Reduction Unit’s knife crime awareness training, aimed at giving professionals a better understanding of the factors that can increase a person’s vulnerability to becoming both a perpetrator and a victim of knife crime.

The session covers why young people might carry a knife, the consequences of doing so and the law as well as signposting additional information and support.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, said: “There has been lots of targeted work taking place over the summer with positive results but we can’t stop there. There is always so much more that could be done, more kids to engage with, more lives to change.

“With the darker nights arriving, lots of events set to take place and more people planning nights out, it makes it all the more important for the Violence Reduction Unit to work with those causing the most disruption in our communities and deter them from crime at the earliest opportunity. Our approach aims to educate young people with a focus on early intervention; however, we will not tolerate violence in our communities and for those who do not engage in our interventions, there are likely to be consequences.”

She added: “No-one should ever become a victim of crime but sadly we know that it does happen. So, whether you live or work in this fantastic region or are simply visiting to experience all it has to offer over the winter period, I want you to feel safe when doing so. The more we can invest in prevention, the stronger our position will be in the fight against crime.”

For more information about the Northumbria Violence Reduction Unit, visit the website.

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Children often see and get drawn into domestic abuse.  Even when they don’t witness it, children know when domestic abuse is happening at home, and it can deeply affect them and go on to cause problems through-out their lives. This is why Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness wants to make sure there are no gaps in the support provisions for children as part of her commitment to ensuring they are not the forgotten victims in domestic abuse.

The Commissioner’s office has just secured £982,335 in funding for the region, which will boost a programme of specialist services which hope to reach around 1500 children and non-offending parents with therapies and interventions. The project is made up of play therapy, counselling, and group support.

Local services that have been commissioned to deliver the project, working alongside the Northumbria Violence Reduction Unit, are: The Acorns Project, The Angelou Centre, Action for Children, Community Counselling Cooperative, Impact Family Services and Wearside Women in Need.

One in seven (14.2%) children and young people under the age of 18 will have lived with domestic abuse at some point in their childhood. This might be hearing abuse from upstairs, seeing a parent injured or in distress, getting caught up in violence trying to protect a loved one, or even being harmed directly.

In some cases, experiencing domestic abuse can be an indirect form of child abuse. In fact, data released by the NSPCC earlier this year found child cruelty and neglect cases in the Northeast had increased by a fifth over the last two years, based on figures from Northumbria Police.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, said: “We must put ourselves in the child’s shoes and give them a safe space and a way of allowing them to explore what troubles them on their own terms, such as through play.

“Support available often focuses on the adult – the victim and survivor – and of course that’s right but we need to have services for children in equal measure. Here in the North-East we are lucky to have established providers who very much have kids on their radar. Although they recognise the great need, they don’t always have the resources to do the work they know is desperately needed. This is why I want to make sure their work is properly funded to ensure that it’s at the forefront of their delivery and can be accessed by children no matter where they live in our region.”

She continued: “We know exposure to domestic abuse can lead to a range of difficulties like stress, anger and trauma, which in turn can lead to problematic behaviours and problems in later life. Work like play therapy can help children manage their feelings and overcome their difficulties. This not only benefits the child, their family, and the wider community but can lead to healthier and happier adult lives.

Children exposed to abuse and violence can experience significant trauma, leading to behaviours – such as substance misuse, drinking too much, and self-harm as well as attempts to be perfect, to over perform at school or to please everyone – all of which can harm the individual and sometimes others around them. We can’t allow that to happen – it’s not fair on these children – and I see this work as a long-term approach to preventing long-term harm and addressing this important public health issue.”

Abby Traynor, Chief Executive at Acorns Project who cover Northumberland and North Tyneside, said: “We hugely welcome this investment in our services for families, now that children and young people have been recognised by the government as victims of domestic abuse in their own right, a message that we have been advocating for many years.   We are excited to continue to work with Kim and our partners in Northumbria to ensure that families get excellent bespoke, timely and appropriate support to aid them in their recovery”

Simon Campbell from Community Counselling Cooperative who work across Tyne and Wear said: “The capacity for children to change psychologically is as great if not greater than adults. This project gives real hope of breaking cycles of domestic abuse and intergenerational trauma. The benefits of which can reverberate all the way down to these children’s future grandchildren.”

Becky Rogerson, Director at Wearside Women in Need in Sunderland, said: “This funding will transform our approach in Sunderland. We want to reach as many children and young people as possible to make sense of their experiences and realise their full potential.”

Lisa Arnell, from South Shields based Impact Family Services, said: “A huge thanks to Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner for her continued championing of best practice in relation to children and young people who have experienced domestic violence in the region; we are proud to be part of such an exciting partnership which endeavours to put children and young people at the heart of what they do –  the children in South Tyneside will benefit greatly.”

The funding was secured following a successful bid by Kim McGuinness’s office to the Home Office’s Children Affected by Domestic Abuse (CADA) Fund.

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PHOTO: Kim McGuinness on a past visit to Acorns Project in North Shields

Notes to editors:

Funding will ensure the following core services were available in all 6 local authority areas:

• Play therapy – which builds on normal communicative and learning processes to help younger children explore what is troubling them without relying on verbal language skills.
• Counselling – which, in the context of domestic abuse can be undertaken effectively with individual children and young people or with the child and non-offending parent.

• Therapeutic groupwork –undertaken with children and young people alone and/or alongside the non-offending parent and offering benefits linked to the group process, as well as content.
• Support for the non–offending parent – so they can actively support their child to engage with the help on offer.

The Northumbria Violence Reduction Unit is delighted to announce that it has awarded over £10,000 to directly benefit 1,980 young people, through a fund aimed at preventing crime and serious violence.

The Local Youth Fund gives young people an alternative to crime by providing the chance to bid for activities or projects that matter to them and make a difference to the communities they live in.

By developing their own projects, young people are gaining experience, learning new skills and building their confidence, all of which have a positive influence on their future life choices.

Young people continue to shape this fund, with a panel responsible for reviewing applications and providing recommendations for funding. In the latest round of the Local Youth Fund, the panel asked the Violence Reduction Unit to fund 20 of the 24 submissions from young people in Northumberland, Tyne and Wear.

The successful applicants have come up with a range of projects, including community sessions, a variety of sports activities, training programmes for personal development, improving local areas and learning new skills with a focus on health and well-being.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, said: “More than 2,000 young people have already benefited from previous rounds of this fund, so I’m delighted to see such enthusiasm and interest from young people in this latest round. The young people have come up with some fantastic ideas and I can’t wait to see some of their projects in person over the next couple of months”.

She added “The Violence Reduction Unit recognise the importance of giving young people access to opportunities and have put them right at the heart of this unique fund. I can’t stress enough how important it is that we continue to engage our young people now to ensure they have the right support to make positive decisions for the future.”

The organisations supporting the successful applicants include:

• 1151 Wallsend Squadron Air Training Corps
• 1st Ponteland Boys Brigade & Girls
• African Community Advice North East
• Barmoor Hub
• Fearless Fitness CIC
• Fenham Association of Residents
• Gateshead Football Club Community Foundation
• Haltwhistle Young and Sweet
• Hat-Trick
• Humankind
• Inspire Youth Tyne and Wear
• Newcastle Eagles Community Foundation
• Northumberland County Council, Northumberland Adolescent Service, Northumberland Youth Service
• Ocean Road Community Association
• The Chev Gateshead Ltd
• YMCA North Tyneside

For more information on the Local Youth Fund, please contact the Violence Reduction Unit by email VRU@northumbria-pcc.gov.uk.

Northumbria Police have been praised for how they protect the vulnerable, prevent crime, work with partners to reduce anti-social behaviour – and ultimately provide communities with value for money.

An inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) also highlighted a number of innovative practices, including how officers keep those on a night out safe, the use of virtual reality to educate young people about the dangers of knife crime and diverting individuals from offending.

Furthermore, the PEEL (police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy) inspection results published today (Thursday) recognised effective leadership, noting the clarity with which the Force’s purpose, vision and values have been so clearly and consistently set out by the Chief Constable and how well understood they are by officers, staff and volunteers.

The report also noted that Northumbria Police engages well with the communities they serve – understanding and responding to their priorities.

Amongst the overwhelming majority of positive findings, the report did raise areas for improvement and since the inspection, which came to a close in April, the Force continues to work hard to address these.

Chief Constable Winton Keenen QPM said: “The volume of positive findings highlighted through this latest inspection are a testament to the commitment and determination of our officers, staff and volunteers to provide our communities with the very best service possible.

“We have always maintained that protecting the most vulnerable is our number one priority and I am extremely pleased to see this reflected within the report, highlighting innovative projects and really effective partnerships to keep people safe.

“The report further highlights our determination to prevent crime from happening and importantly help divert people away from offending.

“We have also been clear about our desire to bring the Force even closer to the fantastic communities we are privileged to be a part of here in the North East and I am delighted the report recognises the meaningful engagement we have with the public to truly understand and respond to their priorities.

“We are determined to build even further on such positive findings and continue to play our part in ensuring the region remains one of the safest in the country and is a welcoming place for all.”

Other areas receiving recognition, included the drive to recruit the very best officers from a range of backgrounds – and a commitment to improving diversity, equality and inclusion.

The report also noted that when crime does occur, the Force carries out good investigations.

Among the areas for improvement were call handling response times – with work already under way to address this, including investment in technology and recruiting of new contact handlers to answer the increasing number of emergency calls the Force is receiving.

“We have been very open about the investment needed and the challenges we face within our control rooms and have already set out how we will continue to work hard to improve things further,” said Chief Constable Keenen.

“The investments we have made are already beginning to make a real difference and we are committed to making sure we continue to find new and improved ways to respond to those who need us.

“Where other opportunities for improvement have been identified we are determined to address them in a way that further builds on the excellent work already under way.”

Looking to the future, while the report highlights Northumbria Police makes best use of the finance available, and plans are both ambitious and lasting – it does note there will be challenges ahead.

The report states further efficiencies will be needed which it adds will present a challenge given the history of savings already made by the Force.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, said: “This report reflects the dedication of officers, staff and volunteers who work hard day in day out to keep the residents of Northumberland, Tyne and Wear safe. I want to thank and congratulate them all.

“I’m particularly pleased that the impressive work around crime prevention in our area has been recognised. I truly recognise the benefits of this approach in fighting crime in the long-term, and I am committed to keeping this a key focus area for our force.

“From working with others to tackle ASB and helping vulnerable people, the report has pulled out several strengths. These are great achievements as the last inspection in 2018/19 flagged these as areas requiring improvement. The feedback has been taken on board, improvements have been made, and real change has been delivered – which is exactly what residents want to see and why these reports are of great value.

“The same determination to turn things around will be applied to the small number of areas identified for improvement in today’s report. In fact, I am already feeling assured that actions to address issues raised are well under way. For example, considerable investment has been made to better the Force’s call handling response times. We are now beginning to see improvements, and this is something I will continue to carefully monitor.

“It is concerning though, that the report highlights further efficiencies will need to be made. At a time of increased police demand, rising inflation and with a decade of cuts behind us – money is already very tight.

“Northumbria Police cannot stand still though. It’s an ambitious Force with strong desires to deliver the best service it can and strengthen its position, but to do this will need to be properly funded.”

The family of murdered teenager Samantha Madgin have opened a caravan retreat – a new place of escape for others whose lives have been devastated by crimes such as knife crime.

Mum Alison, sister Carly and cousin Yvonne, who set up charity Samantha’s Legacy in her memory, have now proudly opened the doors to a caravan getaway for families who have been similarly impact by serious violence.

Following a successful application to Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness’s Supporting Victims Fund to help raise much-needed funds for the project, the family is now set to welcome its first holidaying guests.

Desribed as a ‘home from home’ in a remote, comfortable setting, the caravan based at Swarland, Morpeth, is expected to welcome two or three families a month, helping them recover from their experience.

Samantha was just 18 when she was stabbed to death in Wallsend and since the tragedy in 2007, her family have worked tirelessly to educate young people about the dangers of carrying knives and have also offered their support to those who have found themselves in similar circumstances.

Alison Madgin said: “I know what the pain felt like, and I don’t want any mother, father, or family, to have to experience that but sadly from time to time they do. So, to be able to offer them quality time away from it all, to escape the reality and shock; it’s something I’m really proud of.

“Birthdays, anniversaries – it can all be so tough, so I want this caravan to be used as and when it’s needed. We’ve helped offer breaks for people struggling before. Mental health, anger, grief, even media attention – it can be very overwhelming. The benefits a break away can bring are huge and now we are able to offer this to more people – the people who need it most.”

Carly Barrett Said: ‘Since establishing Samantha’s Legacy victims of knife crime have been at the forefront of our vision. With ongoing support from friends, family, the general public and the Commissioner’s Supporting Victims Fund, I could not be more proud to see our victims retreat launch. From my own experience, I know all too well the benefits this will bring to many at such a tragic time in their lives.”

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, said: “People need somewhere like this to help them get through bad times, but not everyone has the option. Whether its quality time to process what’s happened or a change of scene, there are so many benefits to simply being able to get away from it all.

“We of course need to continue focusing our efforts on preventing crimes like what happened to Samantha from happening again, but on the devastating occasion that they do – we need to be offering the best support we can to help them cope and recover. Ongoing support – mental, practical, financial – it can all makes a difference. This retreat helps with it all and full credit goes to Samantha’s Legacy for making this happen.”

The caravan has been part-funded through the Commissioner’s Supporting Victims Fund – a fund designed to enhance the support services available to victims throughout the force area. The fund is set to re-open for Friday 23rd September, when more information will be available at www.northumbria-pcc.gov.uk.

For more information about the work of Samantha’s Legacy and the Victims Retreat visit www.samanthaslegacy.com

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