Parents of teenager who was stabbed to death speak at Thames Valley Police knife crime conference

Parents of a 13-year-old who was stabbed to death spoke at a Thames Valley Police anti-knife crime conference.

Yesterday (27 June) Amanda and Stuart Stephens whose son Olly was fatally stabbed in Reading in January 2021, spoke school students and staff in the policing area.

Thames Valley Police updated attendees, which also included partner organisations, of its approaches and initiatives taking place to address knife crime.

This included an update on the Operation Deter scheme launched almost a year ago in Milton Keynes, which has since been expanded to Aylesbury and other parts of the Thames Valley.

Also officials addressed how the police sets up prevention and education programmes working with young people.

Amanda and Stuart, who lost their son in 2021, were able to explain the impact of knife crime on families, young people and communities.

Discussions were held across organisations about what more can be done and how learning could be shared to lower knife crime rates.

Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber said: “The conference has brought together a range of partners and enabled us to continue the conversation on how we collectively address this issue. I was pleased to be able to able to bring schools into the conversation to hear their views and discuss how they can be better supported.

“There is a lot of good work already taking place in the Thames Valley. Almost one year on from its launch, Operation Deter is making positive progress in taking knives off our streets and there is some excellent prevention work happening in our communities. It is vital we continue the momentum working together with a broad range of partners to tackle not just knife crime but the wider culture of knife carrying.

“I am grateful to all those who attended today for their reflections and contributions, particularly to Amanda and Stuart Stephens whose tragic story is a reminder of the devastating impact of knives.”

Other presentations were given by Together As One, Lime, The Safety Centre and SOFEA who are all working to support young people through awareness, prevention and educational programmes.

Amanda and Stuart Stephens said: “Anti Knife Crime Education needs to be standardised across the UK and enforced to allow all children to make the right decisions through considering the consequences of their actions. We are campaigning around this, due to our loss.“There also needs to be training for parents, as the world our children live in, is so different from our childhoods, with the advent of addictive smart phones and the social media that feeds our children harmful content. Add to that reduced funding into the police and youth services and it makes for the perfect negative storm.“We will only make their lives safer by working together, police, councils, education settings, NHS, youth groups and partners.”

Operation Deter was launched to increase police officers ability to conduct stop and searches of people suspected of carrying a knife. Also, it has increased the ability of Thames Valley Police to process knife-related crimes at greater speed.

It has specific early interventions for those under 18 to help steer them away from knife crime.