We were saddened to hear of the stabbing by Chingford Mount last week, this incident occurred almost a year to the day since Tyler Hayward was murdered in the same area making the news particularly difficult for the community. Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected.
I spent nearly 20 years living on Chingford Mount and my own experiences growing up near Chingford Hall Estate is part of the reasons we set up the Be Blunt.
When the areas tower blocks were demolished there was hope that the replacement of poor quality housing stock would in turn help address some of the crime and social problems associated with the area. Although better housing makes an important difference it has shown that the causes of violence are rarely simple.
There is no single solution to knife crime.
Switching from pointed kitchen knives to round-tipped alternatives will not prevent every stabbing. We have never claimed that it will. However, it can help reduce the likelihood of some impulsive and opportunistic incidents, particularly when a readily available household knife is used during an argument or moment of crisis.
Kitchen knives are ordinary household items, but their traditional pointed design means they can also cause devastating injuries when misused. In many homes, schools, care settings, supported accommodation and other shared environments, a sharp point is not necessary for the everyday preparation of food.
A round-tipped knife can still slice, chop and prepare meals effectively. The difference is that its design removes or reduces the pointed tip that can be used to penetrate the body.
Safety improvements often happen through a series of relatively small changes. Seat belts did not prevent every road death, child-resistant packaging did not prevent every poisoning, and smoke alarms did not prevent every fire. Each measure nevertheless reduced avoidable harm.
We believe round-tipped kitchen knives should increasingly become the normal choice wherever a pointed tip serves no genuine purpose.
This is not about suggesting that one product can solve a complex social problem. It is about asking a straightforward question: where a safer practical alternative exists, why would we not use it?
This is a simple change that every household & business can make today, whilst we campaign for end of deprivation, more opportunities for young people, better mental health provision, larger budgets for education and policing and other society changes urgently needed.
Photo:
Tower Blocks UK: Waltham Forest London Chingford Hall, Stage II, l47-13 by Miles Glendinning, licensed under CC BY 4.0.