The Knife Angel is a monument and sculpture that travels around England raising awareness of violent knife crime.
Knife crime in England and Wales has gone up over the last year. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), knife crime increased 5% from 2022-2023. To combat this rise, many initiatives have been adopted to educate the public. The Knife Angel was created as a national monument and memorial to those who lost their lives.
Artist Alfie Bradley, from the British Ironworks Centre, created Knife Angel; a 27ft sculpture made from 100,000 knives. These knives were donated during an amnesty drive that saw thousands of people surrender the weapons. Zombie knives were banned in 2016 while cyclone knives were banned in 2019. Many councils have installed ‘surrender bins’ to encourage the safe disposal of these dangerous weapons.
It highlights the negative effects of violent behaviour as well as acting as a memorial to celebrate the lives of those lost to knife and violent crime.
Our Children and Young People’s team from Paragon SIDAS visited the statue in Taunton as part of a planning day. They’re adding activities and sessions focused on the effects and realities of both knife and violent crime. This will be included in the support currently offered to young people aged 10-18. The team plans to create their own collage of this work over the next two months. Keep an eye out on this space to see what’s created.
The statue is in place outside of the Market House in Taunton until the end of April, 2024.
Resources
Here are some websites as sources of further tools and information for parents, carers and professionals.
- The Ben Kinsella Trust | #StopKnifeCrime
- Giving people a chance to live in a world without violence (standagainstviolence.co.uk)
