Children help police find machete in Telford woods
Children helped officers find a machete hidden in the woods near a Telford church.
Police recovered the weapon from outside St Matthews Church in Donnington yesterday.
Officers said: "With the help of local children we located this machete in the woods by St Matthews Church. A weapon off the streets. A big thank you to the local youths."
Sergeant Lou Hickman leads on knife crime in Telford. She said: “We know the devastating consequences of what can happen if a knife gets into the wrong hands and while we are incredibly lucky that we don’t have the same level of knife crime here compared to other parts of the country even one stabbing is one too many.
“In Telford we have been running our Steer Clear programme since the start of the year with more than 100 young people aged between 10 and 17 identified as being on the periphery of knife crime, that number might seem a lot but the programme has meant we have been able to intervene at an early stage and make sure these youngsters are getting the help and support they need to help them make the right choices.
“Almost half of those have taken part in our Steer Clear workshop which sees us as police work with a paramedic from West Midlands Ambulance Service and an ex-gang member along with Energize, youth support services and voluntary organisations to discuss knife crime with the young person and their family and make sure steps are put in place to guide them in the right direction.”
West Mercia Police’s Calling Time on Knife Crime strategy adopts a public health approach to tackling knife crime which sees not just police alone tackle the issue but partner agencies such as the local authority, health and education play a part.
Sergeant Hickman said: “We all need to work together to stop knife crime and stop our young people from carrying knives, that includes our local communities too and I would encourage anyone who has any concerns about a young person they know and thinks they could be considering or are carrying a knife to tell someone. They won’t be getting the young person into trouble but will be making sure they get the support they need.”
