‘There is no one-fixes-all solution,’ says Northampton councillor bringing knife crime to forefront of important conversations

A West Northamptonshire Councillor, using his position to bring knife crime to the forefront of important conversations, says there is “no one-fixes-all solution” to the “complicated issue”.

Councillor James Hill, who represents the Conservative Party in Billing and Rectory Farm, has been the chair of the council’s Diverse Communities Forum for the past seven years.

Following the recent spate of knife crime incidents and fatalities across the county in recent months, Cllr Hill has made knife crime the only agenda point at this Thursday’s forum meeting (May 25).

The forum gets together every couple of months and aims to represent all ethnic minority groups across West Northamptonshire.

By looking and tackling issues that concern these groups, and organising events and projects that benefit them, it brings everyone together and meets the common goal of better representation.

The Diverse Communities Forum also acts as an information exchange group, where organisations speak to members about what they have going on, the work they do, and the benefit it has.

Cllr Hill said: “Knife crime is the only agenda item this week as it is important to have a full meeting devoted to it.

“After the two fatal stabbings of Fred and Alfred, there are a lot of concerned forum members.

“It needs to be given the space to be discussed, given how pressing and urgent the issue is.”

Northamptonshire Police and officers from West Northamptonshire Council will be at the meeting to deliver a joint presentation on the work being done around knife crime – followed by the opportunity for attendees to ask questions about the strategy and to raise any concerns they have.

Though Cllr Hill says the forum knows the recent stabbings were not racially motivated, they are aware that “knife crime does disproportionately affect ethnic minority groups” and that is why they have a “special interest” in it.

“It is important the forum looks at and addresses knife crime head on,” he added.

The chair wants the meeting to be a “positive” space, where people can give their input on the strategy knowing it will be taken on board.

Following the death of 16-year-old Fred Shand, Cllr Hill and Councillor Harry Barrett organised a meeting with two important figures to find out what was being done to combat knife crime.

Northamptonshire Police Chief Constable Nick Adderley and Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold met with the pair to discuss their plan of action.

“There is no one-fixes-all solution,” said Cllr Hill. “There must be community engagement and it needs to encompass everyone.”

Community involvement is a top priority for the councillor moving forward, as he admits that following Fred Shand’s death he was not made aware of a lot of the steps that had been taken to minimise the issue.

He questioned that if he as a councillor was not made aware, how could members of the public be expected to know what was going on?

“We need to look at every aspect of this complicated problem,” Cllr Hill added. “And there needs to be more cohesion and inclusion from all organisations.”

Looking from the perspective of a Northampton resident and father, the councillor described the spate of knife crime incidents as “worrying”.

He said: “In Fred’s case, he was just walking home from school near a busy junction. That could have been anyone. That could have been my son or daughter.”

Moving forward, Cllr Hill hopes all aspects are taken into consideration – spanning across the culture of our youth in Northampton, early intervention, and vital education.