The mother of a young girl stabbed to death today attacked a West Midland council planning to entertain youngsters with knife throwing.
Karen Ross launched her broadside at Walsall Council on the day that the region was named as the worst place in the country outside London for knife crime.
Mrs Ross, 47, from Aldridge whose daughter Rosie was killed in Birmingham seven years ago said: “What in the world are they thinking of? What kind of message is this meant to send to our young people.
“I am dismayed and disappointed that a supposedly responsible local authority could even think of doing such a thing. Do they never read they papers or watch television? Do they not know that there is an epidemic of knife crime mainly involving young people in this country at the moment?” Mrs Ross, whose husband Sean is a retired West Midland police officer, is writing a protest letter to the council demanding that it drops knife throwing from next month’s Streets Alive programme which is aimed at giving youngsters something to do during the summer holidays.
She said: “We have got to get across to young people that it is not clever to carry a knife. We must debunk the theory that it is smart or trendy to go about the streets armed and also try to understand why youngsters feel so vulnerable that they need to carry a knife when they are out. It is an awful reflection on our society.
“As the family of a victim of crime you hope that your loved one is the last to lose their life in this way. How many more families have to suffer like us until lessons are learned and something is done to turn the violent tide sweeping this country. You would hope that changes would be made but things have just got worse in the seven years since we lost Rosie.
“It is now such a huge problem that you fear that it has been allowed to get out of control. My son Alex is a 21-year-old student in Birmingham and I worry about him keeping safe.
“He is a sensible lad and knows that it is best to walk away if he sees trouble but others have not had the experiences that he has endured. And projects like that proposed by Walsall Council are certainly not helping the situation.”
Council leader Councillor John ‘O Hare said today: “I do not know exactly what is involved in the display but I will make further inquiries.”
Rosie Ross was stabbed in May 2001 while relaxing with a friend in Birmingham’s Centenary Square.
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