This 6th edition of FKCL’s magazine addresses several inter-connected themes. We deal with caring for our children in schools, drug education, how we deal with young people within our criminal justice system. It questions our present sentencing regime, and the way we treat young people in custody, and how this can be improved. And there is more.
The quality of those who express their opinions in this edition lives up to the serious and high quality we have set with earlier editions. Dealing with the way we treat offenders (and much more besides) are two former Old Bailey judges who are amongst those few with the greatest experience in the country of dealing with young and violent offending. They are Her Honour Wendy Joseph KC and His Honour Nicholas Cooke KC. We have a close look at the way we treat our young prisoners, compared with the way other countries approach the same challenge. Looking particularly at Norway, serious questions are asked about how England and Wales comply with international standards on the treatment of young offenders, and what we should be doing about it. This thesis is developed here by two young forensic psychologists who recently obtained their Masters degrees from Maastricht University. FKCL has been very fortunate. We are to have their talented services, offered free of charge, for the next few months, looking at some of the problems we face in the UK. They are Thea Johsefine Austevik from Norway and Lara Schwarz from Germany.
Sticking with the theme of prisons we have an inspiring article authored by Nathaniel Peat, Founder of The Safety Box, and Shannon Jordan, a young writer currently working with them. They present fine examples of what we might be doing in many other custodial institutions.
We also focus on long-standing yet ever more important issues – drug education, and how we stop our young people been drawn towards the false and dangerous temptations presented to them. No-one is better qualified to speak of this than Fiona Spargo-Mabbs OBE, Founder of the DSM Foundation, named after her son Daniel, whom she lost when he was just 16, after accepting the dangerous concoction that killed him. Ever since she has worked tirelessly to see that no other child suffers through a lack of knowledge about the dangers that may catch us unawares.
Sticking with schools and the work being done there, we have a piece from Steve Sweeney representing Safer School Partnerships and Schools Officers in the Metropolitan Police. The work these officers do needs to be better known. They stand so close to the issues that lie at the heart of the work that FKCL do. We have a piece from our new partners at imabi, who use the power of their inspiring new Apps to take the issues of the safety of our young people into every quarter of their lives – into schools, on the public transport system in London, into public places, and into the work place, offering technological solutions which help us all to keep safe, Their founder Mark Balaam, is working with FKCL to see how this work can be developed. Here, imabi’s Operations Director, Hayley Spedding writes for us. We also have an update Dr. Angela Herbert MBE on the wide range of activity and the ambitious yet successful outreach of the VCPB, and more exciting plans they have for their future.
Finally, to start 2023, we also welcome The Ben Kinsella Trust as new formal partners of FKCL. We could not ask for a better collaboration.
HELP CHANGE A LIFE TODAY. On the next page you will see FKCL's new "Print at Home" poster and flyer. Please download it here. You can download one in A4 or A5 format here at www.fightingknifecrime.london/media-assets. Please print one out and put it up somewhere useful. By using the QR codes, you will unleash the power of our partners Local Village Network's App and FKCL's wide range of resources to help young people find solutions to their lives.
Bruce Houlder, Founder of Fightning Knife Crime London (FKCL)
www.fightingknifecrime.london
