PCC reflects on the Knife Angel visit to Newton Aycliffe

It has been an absolute privilege to host the Knife Angel in Newton Aycliffe throughout June.  I have been truly overwhelmed with the positive comments and personal experiences shared with my team, our partners and myself over the past four weeks.

Undoubtedly, the power and presence of this monument will be felt across the whole of County Durham and Darlington long after it continues with its onward journey. This is exactly the effect we all worked so hard to achieve and gives me a huge sense of pride.

Throughout June, the Knife Angel has been a focal point for an array of workshops, educational programmes and awareness activities helping to alert young people to the dangers of carrying knives and the devastating consequences of using them. It has also helped inform parents, caregivers and the wider community of the joint responsibility we all have in making our world safer for future generations, and the active role we need to play to make our communities stronger and more resilient to violence.

The task for all partners now is to capitalise on this heightened awareness and to build on the momentum of positive engagement that the Knife Angel has inspired, so that we can keep the difficult conversations flowing; between parents and their children, between our communities and the police, and between each other as key stakeholders.

There are so many people to thank for securing the Knife Angel’s visit and for ensuring that its poignant messages resonated with local people. Many businesses, individuals, community groups and charities have volunteered their time to help fulfil the important engagement events and activities planned throughout the monument’s stay. Without the support of each and every one of these key partners, so many opportunities would have been missed to prevent future harm and inspire change. I would also like to extend my thanks to our communities themselves and for the young people who have listened, learned and fully immersed themselves in these activities.

I would particularly like to thank Sgt Andy Boyd, who played a key role in bringing the Angel to Newton Aycliffe.  For thirty years he has epitomised neighbourhood policing at its best, working closely with the local community and partners to prevent, detect and deter crime.  It is particularly fitting that his last day on the beat was the closing ceremony for the Knife Angel and I wish him well in his retirement.

We are under no illusion that the job is done, and the Angel has waved a magic wand. There is always more to do, and following the Angel’s visit, we are planning to roll-out education packages across the force area.  

Beyond its message of remembrance and warning, the Knife Angel represents hope for positive change, and this is the legacy that it will leave across County Durham and Darlington.  

Ends

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Picture Shows: Ciaron Irvine, (Deputy Chief Constable), Sergeant Andy Boyd, PCC JoyAllen and Alan Strickland, MP.

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