The touring Knife Angel sculpture is in Leeds this month, to send a powerful message and spark conversations about knife crime in the city.
It is placed outside the Royal Armouries Museum as part of an intensification month on knife crime.
The Knife Angel, standing 27ft tall and made from over 100,000 seized blades, was created by the British Ironwork Centre to highlight the negative effects of violent behaviour and the need for change. Featuring messages from families of victims of knife crime it also acts as a striking memorial designed to celebrate those lives who have been lost.
As part of the city’s continued response to serious youth violence a free programme of learning opportunities will be running throughout the month. To engage and educate young people, secondary schools have been given the opportunity to book in for specialist learning sessions at the Royal Armouries Museum, supported by the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Partnership.
The Youth Service and other youth providers will also be targeting their discussions on knife crime and will be offering a combination of activities based at the Knife Angel location and in communities.
Councillor Debra Coupar, Leeds City Council’s executive member for resources with responsibility for Safer Leeds, said: “Although the rates of knife crime have been falling, it remains a serious issue and has a devastating impact on individuals, families and communities.
“We’re looking forward to hosting the Knife Angel sculpture this month, both as a monument to lives we’ve tragically lost, and as a force to help reinforce the work we’ve been doing around how we can change these behaviours as quickly as possible.
“As a city we take knife crime and violence in general very seriously and it’s something we and our partners work hard to address with young people and their parents or guardians. We’d like to encourage everyone to come down and see the sculpture for themselves and not be afraid to speak to each other about these issues.”
Leeds District Commander, Chief Superintendent Steve Dodds, said: “We are acutely aware of the tragic consequences of youth knife crime, the young lives that have been senselessly lost here in Leeds and the families who are left to live with that.
“While we have been working hard alongside our partner agencies to tackle the issue and are seeing reductions, any incident of this kind will always be one too many.
“The root causes and driving factors around young people involved in knife crime are much wider than policing alone and it is only through everyone across our communities playing their part that we will continue make progress.
“The arrival of the Knife Angel and the work that sits around it over the month will be an excellent opportunity to build on the work we have been doing to reduce incidents and keep our young people and our communities safe.”
West Yorkshire’s Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Alison Lowe OBE, said: “The Knife Angel represents our solidarity in confronting the issues of serious violence, ensuring that West Yorkshire remains safe, just and inclusive.
“We each play a crucial role in turning the tide on knife crime and rejecting those behaviours that can lead to unimaginable heartbreak for families and communities.
“It provides a fantastic platform to educate our young people, opening up new conversations, which can help change attitudes and cultures.”
Nat Edwards, Director General and Master of the Royal Armouries said:
“The Knife Angel has to be one of the more remarkable visitors we’ve welcomed to the Royal Armouries and I am hugely thankful to West Yorkshire Police and Leeds City Council for making this happen.
“Our museum is all about using our collection of arms and armour to help forge a more peaceful future and the Knife Angel manifests that in the most dynamic and eye-catching way possible.”
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