The Knife Angel made a big impression when it visited Chelmsford last year. PHOTO: The British Ironwork Centre
Grassroots organizations are at the forefront in tackling rising knife crime in Essex.
Keep It 100 is a nonprofit founded to raise awareness of youth violence and exploitation. It works with partners to prevent the devastating effects of youth violence by providing creative opportunities and support to young people in need.
Luisa Di Marco, Founder of Keep It 100, said: “By launching Keep It 100, I wanted to raise awareness about youth violence and the impact it has on the community. It came from my own experience of being misunderstood and not being able to explain to people what I was going through because for me it became a pattern in my life and I felt that I had a role in life.
“If it had been brought up when I was much younger, I wouldn’t have been as vulnerable as I was.
“I try to highlight the process of exploitation. Young people are quite mentally numbed when they are being exploited.”
Keep It 100 were instrumental in bringing the National Monument Against Violence and Aggression, better known as Knife Angel, to Central Park in Chelmsford, Essex in September 2021. They have been supported by a range of partners including Chelmsford City Council and The Violence and Vulnerability Unit.
The 27ft sculpture, made from 100,000 blunt knives by the British Ironwork Center and artist Alfie Bradley, is traveling across the country to warn communities of the consequences of knife crime.
The Knife Angel was visited around 18,000 times in Chelmsford.
In addition to Knife Angel’s visit, two amnesty boxes were placed in Chelmsford – one at the base of the sculpture in Central Park, the other near the Meadows Retail car park. To date, more than 550 weapons, including axes and machetes, have been given to the boxes and Keep It 100 partners.
Police-recorded data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows that knife and sharps crime is on the rise in Essex.
Essex Police recorded 1,310 offenses between July 2019 and June 2020 and 1,561 offenses in the same period a year later, between July 2020 and June 2021. This 19 per cent increase was the highest percentage increase in knife and sharps offenses of any police force in the country.
This increase contrasts with the national picture, which showed a nine per cent fall in knife and sharps crimes over the same period for all police forces in England combined.
Luisa said: “I am amazed by the data. At street level we have had more positive feedback from young people who have started to get more involved with activities and so on.
“I think Essex Police have been really proactive in tackling the causes.”
Essex is not alone with a rise in knife and sharps crime. Staffordshire was up 17 per cent and Dorset was up 15 per cent.
But at the other end of the spectrum, Cheshire saw crime fall 31 percent, alongside the Met (-21 percent) and Sussex (-20 percent).
A statement from Essex Police said: “We have made significant efforts to tackle knife crime, including policing hotspots, intelligence gathering, the use of knife arcs and the use of additional powers such as dispersal orders and Section 60 powers, the one extension of the stop-and-seek activity that happens every day.
“Special teams like the Serious Violent Unit, the Op Raptor and Disruptor teams work every day to combat those intent on causing harm in our communities.
“Knife crime and violence is not a problem that police can address alone and we are working with partners to address it.
“In Essex we are incredibly fortunate to have so many partners, such as the Essex Violence and Vulnerability Unit. A major focus is to divert people who are involved or at risk of being involved in knife crime/violent crime from this lifestyle through sport, education, volunteering and rehabilitation.
“This is a fight we must fight together as a community. This includes educating our children about the reality of being involved in gangs and the reality that carrying a knife does not protect them, it puts them at a higher risk of being hurt or hurting someone else.”
As part of Knife Angel’s legacy in Chelmsford, Keep It 100 created the K100 Awards to celebrate the skills, artistry and talent of young people in the community. The winner of each category will receive business support for a year, including one-on-one mentoring from an expert at the forefront of their field.
Luisa is also committed to a national day against youth violence.
She said: “It’s a bit like mental health. A few years ago it wasn’t really understood and it wasn’t really emphasized. I think we need to do that with youth violence.”
Councilor Rose Moore, Chelmsford City Council cabinet member for Greener and Safer Chelmsford, said: “Although the city is not as badly affected by knife crime as other parts of Essex, the conversations that the Knife Angel started and the reactions this one evoked stunning artwork, revealing .
“His greatest legacy for Chelmsford has been a focus on creative partnerships in the city that are vital to tackling the root causes of youth violence and knife crime, and new collaborations are already underway.
“It has also allowed us to listen to young people and invest in more places and programs that take their minds off youth violence.”
People are encouraged to donate their guns to amnesty bins across the county, and Keep It 100 offers a no-questions-asked personal collection.
For more information, visit www.keepit100essex.com or find Keep It 100 on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
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