Anti Knife Crime Education
Anti Knife Crime Education Programme- 'The Cutting Edge'
Knife Crime- How do we reduce knife carrying?
An increasing number of young people & children seem to be resorting to weapons carrying. How can we reduce this & encourage young people to make good choices, rather than ones that will potentially blight the rest of their lives?
The Institute for Crime & Justice Studies did an excellent piece of research on knife crime & carrying amongst young people, & they found that THE MOST EFFECTIVE method of reducing weapons carrying amongst young people on a local level was the use of education programmes, but that to be effective those programmes had to be delivered not by the police/teachers or other 'authority figures' (who usually do these sorts of things) but by people that the children could identify with.
Our Anti Knife Crime Education Programme
Mark created his Anti Knife Crime Education Programme 'The Cutting Edge' after his son was threatened with a knife outside his Primary School in Arbroath. Mark has a unique viewpoint on the reality of knife crime. He is an Internationally acknowledged expert on edged weapons & the fighting systems that employ them, & teaches edged weapons combatives to Special Forces units. He is an expert on knife crime, having worked in pub & nightclub security in places where knife carrying & use is endemic- where he would face attack with a weapon or have to deal with someone attacking another person with a weapon sometimes five times in a single night. He understands the mind-set of the criminal underbelly of society & the people who carry weapons with the intent to use them.
While running security at large under 18's events Mark came in contact with many young people that his staff caught carrying knives during searches at the entrance. He started taking time to talk to these children, & to try to get inside their heads. Some of these kids were already little sociopaths, but by far the majority of them were decent kids who were simply petrified of the aforementioned 'little sociopaths'. Mark would talk to these kids, & explain to them exactly what would happen to their lives & the lives of all those close to them, the second they decided to use that weapon to 'protect themselves'.
His Anti Knife Crime Education Programme 'The Cutting Edge' is derived from these talks. In this workshop he pulls no punches, & he shows the young people on it the realities of knife & weapons use. Most children are the same, they seldom think about 'consequences'. Mark leads them by the hand through the true consequences of using a weapon, & how it will affect the rest of their life, & the lives of those around them.
Knife Crime- the realities
Mark Davies is regularly used as an 'expert' by the press, & has appeared on GMTV, Reporting Scotland, North Tonight, Radio 4, Radio Scotland, Talk Radio (UK, Australian & Irish) & has been featured regularly in the national press. He has given presentations on Knife Crime & his experiences in Parliament, & is the only Martial Arts Instructor ever to be named in a motion of support brought before Parliament. He continues to work closely with Parliamentarians, particularly MSP Alex Johnstone & Local Councillor Jim Millar.
One of the findings of the study done by the ICJS was that Anti Knife Crime Education had to be done by someone that young people could relate to, not an 'authority figure'. Mark has a natural excellent rapport with children & young people. When they hear that he is a Professional Martial Arts Instructor, an Instructor with UK Special Forces, & a former 'bouncer' (though Mark loathes that term) they don't see him as an authority figure & treat him as someone to listen to & respect. He delivers his message with humour, & in a way that the participants enjoy.
His Anti Knife Crime Education Programme is designed to be delivered in schools. Why schools? If we are serious about getting the message out that knife carrying is not the answer to a young persons personal safety then School is the one place where you get children together as a captive audience. In school they are in an environment where they are used to sitting & learning, so it is an extremely useful place to deliver programmes like 'The Cutting Edge'. The same children who are carrying weapons are attending schools, so we all need to work together to influence them in the correct direction.
Hosting The Cutting Edge Anti Knife Crime Programme
Mark is available to perform his Cutting Edge workshop for interested Schools or Education Authorities. It is a positive message for young people, & would be a huge 'plus point' for any school to say they have hosted for the welfare of its pupils. Mark can be contacted using the form on this website, or you can call him directly using the contact numbers shown.