Officers from Greater Manchester Police deliver knife crime awareness training to secondary school pupils

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‘Let’s End the Hurt’ training workshops have been delivered to secondary schools across Bolton as part of Greater Manchester Police’s commitment to tackling knife crime.

During the 2020/21 academic year, Chief Inspector Mike Russell and colleagues from GMP’s Bolton district, engaged with over 16,000 pupils from 20 secondary schools, to help raise awareness of knife crime and the devastating impact carrying a knife can have.

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The workshop covers the reasons why young people may feel the need to carry a knife, the dangers of handling knives, the laws around knife crime; as well as providing advice on how to avoid becoming involved in, or becoming a victim of knife crime.

The sessions also provide pupils with an insight into the devastating affect knife crime not only has on the victim and offender, but also their families, friends and the wider community.

Chief Inspector Mike Russell from GMP's Bolton district, spoke in some detail about the course:

 “The Let’s End the Hurt campaign was developed following recent knife crime incidents in Bolton, when as a team we came together and identified that there was a real need for a high-quality, flexible training package led by the students’ needs. This training differs from any previous packages we’ve delivered in schools, as it focuses on issues and subjects that the young people in our local communities have raised with us.

“We want to ensure that every workshop we do is more current and relevant than the last, and that the campaign continually develops based on the feedback we receive from pupils and teachers. So far, the feedback has been extremely positive; something that we’re incredibly proud of. We've already seen the encouraging impact the training is having on young people as after two of the sessions, two knives were surrendered.”

Feedback has been extremely positive from teaching staff. One teacher added: 

“What a fantastic step forward this is for Bolton, not just in creating community links between schools and the Police, but also in engaging our young people with the dangers of knife crime and responsibility. The sessions were excellent! 

 “I look forward to seeing how this relationship can develop moving forward.

 “Our students were gripped. Thank you, and the Police for putting this opportunity together.”

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