Police boss launches competition for young people to rap, speak or write about knife crime in Milton Keynes

Young people all over MK have been invited to rap, speak or write about knife crime in a unique competition launched by the Police and Crime Commissioner.

The competition is called The Knife Sentence’ and forms part of the city’s Month of Action Against Violence.

PCC Matthew Barber is asking anyone aged 11 to 25 to submit their own Knife Sentence – a short rap, spoken word performance or written lyrics about how they feel about knife crime and violence in Milton Keynes.

He said: “The competition is about engaging young people on the issue of knife crime, how they feel about it and how it affects them.

“Some young people may find it a difficult subject to talk about. I hope the competition provides a way for young people to open up and get involved in the conversation.”

He added: “Violence, and in particular knife crime, is a real concern amongst communities in Milton Keynes.”

The beginning of this year saw four fatal stabbings in MK within a period of just 13 weeks.

Mr Barber hopes his Knife Sentence competition will raise awareness of the impact of knife crime on individuals and communities and give young people the opportunity to express their feelings against violence.

Entries will be judged across three age group categories by Thames Valley music group Readipop, who are supporting the competition.

The winners could be heard on Spotify, win a MK Dons match day experience as well as a chance to record their own music at a session with Readipop.

Full competition details, including three different downloadable beats to be used as backing tracks for entries, can be found on the website competition page here.

The official Month of Action Against Violence starts of December 1 and will see the hosting of the National Monument Against Violence and Aggression, also known as the Knife Angel, outside MK Stadium.

The purpose is to bring statutory organisations and the community together to open up discussions about how people can work together to tackle the problem of knife crime and people carrying knives.