No Knives Better Lives - North Ayrshire Launch

North Ayrshire No Knives Better Lives campaign was launched at a dance event at Eglinton Park on Friday 10 February, attended by around 70 young people. A number of CJA partners and board members also attended. The evaluation of this event was very positive, with young people focusing in particular on the powerful testimonies of two 13 year olds from Kilwinning Academy, one of whom was a victim of a knife crime and the other witnessed the events. During the NKBL campign, 65 pavement chalk stencils have been produced around North Ayrshire at locations identified by local young people and community police officers. Sports banners have been placed at local leisure facilities and the No Knives Better Lives animation (view below) was running at the Odeon in Kilmarnock throughout March.

Knife Crime Animation from No Knives Better Lives on Vimeo.

‘On a knife edge’ training has take place for 34 council, leisure and police staff. Local roadshows were held in supermarkets/ shopping centres in Irvine, Kilbirnie and Ardrossan, with around 240 questionnaires completed with local people on issues around knife crime. A street soccer league to break down the barriers of gang violence and knife crime will be held over the coming months, with the finals in August. And finally congratulations to Ardrossan Academy who won the North Ayrshire We-CTV competition with their film project called ‘blade’, which tells a story about peer pressure. The film competition attracted over 100 entries, with the winners attending a national event at Hampden as one of nine finalists, to begin to develop their storyboard into a film. Watch this space for future information on the final online competition and voting opportunity (first two weeks in May).

For more information contact Garry Muir, Strathclyde Police, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Damian Taylor, North Ayrshire Council, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .