Actor Ray Winstone has joined the call for compulsory knife crime lessons in schools, backing the plea of two fathers whose sons were fatally stabbed. Winstone, who became patron of The Rob Knox Foundation after filming a documentary on the murder of Harry Potter actor Rob Knox, said: "I don't know why that hasn't been done up to now."
The foundation's founder, Colin Knox, and Martin Cosser, whose 17-year-old son Charlie was fatally stabbed at a party in West Sussex in , are urging the prime minister to make knife crime lessons part of the curriculum. Winstone supports their call, suggesting that documentaries on knife crime should be shown in schools to prevent young people from committing such crimes.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), there were over 50,000 incidents of knife crime recorded in 2023-2024, an increase of 4% on the previous year. The Department for Education (DfE) acknowledged that more needs to be done to tackle knife crime, which devastates lives.
Winstone also proposed that anyone caught carrying a knife should meet with victims' families as a preventative measure. He emphasized the importance of preventing the crime before it happens. The DfE stated that it allows schools discretion to tailor the content of the curriculum to suit the threats that face their pupils, including focusing on knife crime.
New legislation banning the manufacture, sale, possession, and importation of zombie knives came into force across England and Wales on 24 September. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced the government's aim to halve knife crime within a decade. Mr. Knox and Mr. Cosser will visit Whitehall to discuss their campaign with the government later in October.
