The council has organised a broad range of preventative events and interventions which start today (Monday 19 May 2025) as part of a concerted Week of Action, with the overall objective of encouraging children and young people away from dangerous and detrimental activities.
Working in tandem with local partner agencies, organisations and stakeholders including Community Safety, the Metropolitan Police, Schools, the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) and the Youth Justice Service, this week will see them all join together and collaborate on tackling a critical issue head-on.
Haringey Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, Cllr Ajda Ovat, said:
We’re proud to support Knife Crime Awareness Week and hope all those attending the in-person and online sessions this week come away feeling educated and empowered to make the right life choices now and in the future.
As a council, we’re determined to do all we can to minimise the risks of our children and young people falling victims to knife crime. One young life lost to knife crime on the streets of the capital is one too many.
Cllr Zena Brabazon, the council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Families, said:
We do a lot of outreach work in our schools and youth centres to ensure the future generations of Haringey residents are provided with the resources and tools to prosper and flourish in their young lives.
Knife crime and gang violence doesn’t just account for one young life. It can have a profoundly devastating and everlasting effect on many more people. It leaves an indelible mark and that’s precisely why we must do all we can to prevent it through the activities, events and initiatives we’re putting on to mark this Knife Crime Awareness Week.
This awareness week and its associated aims have our unequivocal support and we hope it achieves the results we all want to see.
Young people and the wider Haringey community will experience a number of informative and insightful initiatives, such as:
- Visits to an anti-knife crime exhibition at the Ben Kinsella Trust
- Interactive workshops at local schools, youth centres and Wood Green Crown Court
- Valuable online resources, like anti-knife crime messages and pledges, counselling and toolkits
- Football via the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, with a tournament designed to instil fun and teamwork and exemplify the unifying power of sport
The local police will also be conducting weapon sweeps and patrol key hotspots, while the council’s Trading Standards team will be participating in test purchase operations of knives with young people to warn local businesses of the consequences of non-compliance.
For further information, please visit the Youth Justice Service (YJS) pages on the Haringey Council website.
