Bring Peace to Milton Keynes Streets campaigner launches petition for tougher sentencing on knife crime

A petition calling for tougher sentencing on knife crime has been launched by Dr Shery Delfani who is campaigning to Bring Peace to MK’s Streets.

Dr Delfani, who is working to support the family of teenager Ahmednur Nuur is also calling for the introduction of a Youth Minister, to focus on the issue of knife crime. Student Ahmednur, 16, was fatally stabbed during a fight outside Milton Keynes College in February last year.

The petition and renewed campaign has been launched to coincide with National Knife Crime Awareness Week (May 15-22)

Dr Delfani said: “In spite of December’s campaign against violent behaviour, knife crime has only grown, with more incidents in recent weeks.

“This proves that we still need to do far more solid work to reduce the knife crime issue in MK. As I have stated before, we should take a ‘public health approach’ to violence and treat it like a disease, dealing with the causes rather than the symptoms.

“I’m also calling on the police to work with teachers, social and health workers to collate and share knowledge of people involved in gangs. But I suspect this issue is not totally related to the gangs.

“We need to tackle the root of this issue. Knife crime has become a national issue, and sadly in MK is soaring again.

“We should be frank in addressing that the roughest areas potentially are also the poorest and most deprived, with the highest rate of addiction, domestic abuse, and teenage pregnancy.

“It’s absolutely not just a policing issue, it involves everybody - schools, communities, hospital, prisons, local authorities, politicians, and families. A key part of tackling the issue is to educate young people, who carry with them a lot of myths about the safety of violence, about the reality of knife crime and its dangers.”

She also added that while prevention was a major part of the knife crime issue, ‘criminal justice still needs to be there and seen to be done swiftly’. Launching the petition for tougher sentences, Dr Delfani said: “We have written a letter to both MK’s MPs and PCC to support this petition and introduce this Bill in he House of Parliament. In the UK, we don’t have a Youth Minister, and there is a huge lack for this part.

“Nowadays, unfortunately, there aren’t many youth clubs for people to go to. If there were more a lot of young people wouldn’t be on the streets and getting up to things they shouldn’t be.”

A spokesman for the family of Ahmednur Nuur added: “We write to our MP with heavy hearts and to express our deep concern for the safety of our community in the wake of the tragic death of our beloved Ahmednur Nuur, who was killed outside Milton Keynes College on the 11th of February 2022.

“The loss of our beloved Ahmednur has left us shattered and unable to heal, and the miscarriage of justice throughout the entire process has only exacerbated our grief and pain.

“Ahmednur’s case highlights a glaring issue in our justice system in regard to knife crime.

“We need practical, sensible, commonsense solutions if we are to stem the flow of bodies.”

Back the campaign by supporting the petition here