An eye-catching angel sculpture made up of thousands of confiscated weapons is now available to see at the Anglican Cathedral as part of the #NoMoreKnives campaign.
Dubbed the ‘Angel of Knives’, the 27-foot-high statue was built by sculpturer, Alfie Bradley, and is made up of over 100,000 previously-owned blades that were provided by police.
Its aim is to discourage people from carrying a knife, and to raise awareness of the consequences. It will remain at the cathedral until the end of January next year.
Speaking about how delighted he is that the statue is visiting the city and the reasons for creating it, Mr Bradley told JMU Journalism: “I’m so happy the angel is in Liverpool, it’s a lovely cosmopolitan, arty city.
“I made a 13ft piece before but wanted to create something twice the size with more meaning. The news at the time was constantly talking about knife crime, so I thought about creating a giant angel out of the weapons to show the number of weapons out there.
Working tirelessly to get the knife angel to visit Merseyside has been Rob Jackson, a nurse from The Royal Hospital in Liverpool. Mr Jackson has spent years speaking to thousands of young people across the country about the issue.
YouTube: Harry Leahey
He said: “Knife crime isn’t going to go away. Liverpool is an amazing city, but there is a minority that spoils it for everybody and that’s why we need to continue this work and highlight the impact knife crime is having on the city”.
The arrival follows the latest crime data from the Office of National Statistics, which has revealed almost 950 serious crimes involving knives were recorded by Merseyside Police last year.
This is up 18% on 2016, which saw 801 knife crimes recorded.
As well as the statue, schools across Merseyside have also being playing their part in the #NoMoreKnives message, by hosting assemblies to help reduce violence across the region.
Senior youth workers from the Anfield Boxing Club have been delivering the sessions, liaising closely with Merseyside Police to highlight the main causes of knife culture, as well as the dangers involved.
Explaining how vital these assemblies are, a spokesman from the club told JMU Journalism: “It’s important that we try our best to make young people understand the impact knife crime has on families and communities.
“The feedback and the reaction has been so so positive. Young people want to work with us to help educate others. By doing what we have done and continue to do, we will have created thousands of knife crime ambassadors that will carry the message that knives kill.”
Twitter: Harry Leahey
The 27 ft tall ‘Statue of Knives’ has arrived at the Anglican Cathedral. Available to see till January, it commemorates victims of knife crime and raises awareness of Liverpool’s #NoMoreKnives campaign. It’s made up of over 100,000 confiscated blades. @JMUJournalism pic.twitter.com/sHbmwLBvYs
— Harry Leahey (@harryleahey1) 29 November 2018
Plenty of people braving the cold to admirer the knife statue. Taking two years to complete, it was created by renowned sculpture, Alfie Bradley#NoMoreKnives pic.twitter.com/jLk89iqaNP
— Harry Leahey (@harryleahey1) 29 November 2018
Twitter: Merseyside Police
Secondary schools in #Liverpool are hosting assemblies dedicated to the awareness of knife crime and how young people can help prevent themselves from becoming victims of knife crime whilst discouraging them from considering carrying a knife #NoMoreKnives pic.twitter.com/xSoyjN8JgJ
— Merseyside Police (@MerseyPolice) 22 November 2018