The Knife Sentence

The campaign aims to raise awareness of the tough new operational approach that the police are taking to tackle knife crime (Operation Deter) that was launched by the PCC and Thames Valley Police on 1 July 2022.

The Knife Sentence campaign will explore the broader impact that carrying a knife can have on people and communities. The dangers and consequences of carrying a knife affect not only you but also your friends, family and community. It may lead to a custodial sentence and impact you and others physically and emotionally. Your choices affect your long-term future and the lives of people around you.

Operation Deter was initially been launched in Milton Keynes following particular community concern about knife crime after a number of tragic incidents. Since then it has also launched in Aylesbury, Slough, Reading and Oxford and will soon be rolled out across the Thames Valley. The main objectives are to take a more streamlined approach to charging and remanding offenders aged over 18 to court, ensuring that a robust message is sent to anyone found in possession of a knife, and supporting under 18s to make better decisions.

You can read more in our Latest News and visit www.knifesentence.org

Knife Sentence Competition

As part of our Knife Sentence Campaign and to coincide with December’s Month of Action Against Violence in Milton Keynes, we asked young people in Milton Keynes to get creative and enter our competition by telling us about how they feel about knife crime.

Young people were asked to rap, sing, speak or write about knife crime and express their feelings against violence.

12 year old Michele Bennet was the winner of the competition. You can hear his track below. The track, ‘Right Place Wrong Time’ was recorded with music group Readipop.

Right Place Wrong Time

Runners-up of the competition were Malakai Mapuvire and Emily Rapceviciute