Sheffield knife crime: Metal detectors and knife bins alone not the answer, says boxing coach
A boxing coach who works with young people in Sheffield says amnesty bins and metal detectors alone are not the answer to stopping knife crime.
Ronny Tucker runs Aspire Boxing Club, at UiS on Chesterfield Road, Sheffield, which has been going for more than 30 years.
The club is about much more than boxing, with Ronny and his fellow volunteers providing mentoring and helping steer young people away from knife crime.
In the wake of the tragic death of Harvey Willgoose, the 15-year-old who died following a stabbing at All Saints School in Sheffield on Monday, he has urged people to work together to tackle knife crime.
A number of knife amnesty bins have been placed around Sheffield in recent years, while Harvey’s death has prompted renewed calls for knife arches to be installed at school.
But Mr Tucker does not believe either of these are the solution to preventing knife crime.
The key thing, he insists, is ‘changing the mindset’ of young people carrying knives, and he believes everyone has a role to play and it is vital different organisations work together.
“This is another kid who shouldn’t be dead, another family that’s distraught,” he said.
“I didn’t know the boy who died on Monday but some of the children who come to our club did and seeing the impact on them has been awful.
“We have to pick up the pieces and there’s a big job to do.”
Mr Tucker says that when a tragedy like this happens people are often quick to blame the local authority but that doesn’t help anybody.
“We need to work together with local authorities to change the mindset of young people,” he said.
‘We have a lot of work to do’
“What makes a young person think it’s OK to pick up a knife and stab someone else?
“We have a lot of work to do to educate young people and change the mindset of thoe young people so they realise it’s not acceptable to carry knives.
“We need a coordinated approach involving local authorities, the police, schools, community groups and other organisations to achieve that.”
Asked about calls for knife arches at schools, Mr Tucker said: “How have we got to a stage in life where we think we need knife arches in schools?
“That means the mentality is that kids are carrying knives.
“It’s about intervening earlier and changing the mindset of young people.
“We need to look at what strategies schools and other organisations are using across Sheffield rather than things like knife arches and bins.
“Let’s look at what works in Sheffield and more importantly what doesn’t work. I’ve seen lots of projects which have had plenty of money chucked at them but have had no impact.”
One approach Mr Tucker has used at Aspire Boxing Club is bringing in people who have been directly affected by knife crime, including a mother whose son was fatally stabbed and another woman who was herself stabbed 24 times.
Hearing their stories, he says, has much more impact than police officers telling young people not to carry knives.
Mr Tucker also says it is important to look at what can be done to make young people feel more comfortable reporting knife crime anonymously.
He believes community groups and clubs like Aspire have a big role to play in tackling knife crime, but that they must work together with the authorities.
“Aspire is about more than boxing, it’s about saving people’s lives, mentoring people and giving them a better chance,” he said.
“We have a couple of young people doing well at university who probably would have been on the wrong side of the law without the club.
“We have people in here turning young people’s lives around. It’s not rocket science and it’s not all about money.”