Bath and North East Somerset’s Violence Reduction Partnership is running a series of knife crime awareness events, including one in Bath, for parents who would like to know more about the dangers or are concerned their children are at risk.
Bleed control kits are being installed on the side of HeartSafe defibrillators | Photo © Avon & Somerset Police
An event was held at The Space in Keynsham last November and now three more are lined up around the district.
The first is at Writhlington School near Radstock on Thursday 22nd February (5.30pm to 7.30pm), followed by one at Hayesfield Girls’ School in Bath on Thursday 29th February (6pm to 8pm) and then at Cameley CEVC Primary School at Temple Cloud on Monday 18th March (6pm to 8pm).
The Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP) is a multi-agency partnership that aims to prevent and reduce violence in the area.
It works to understand and address the root causes to prevent further violent crimes from occurring in the future. The VRP also provides resources and supports the work of professionals and community groups who help children at risk or involved in serious violence.
At the awareness events, there will be guest speakers who have been personally affected by knife crime.
There will be a presentation by the national charity StreetDoctors, which puts young people at the centre of emergency first aid provision and empowers them to become part of the solution to violence. A panel discussion with the opportunity to ask questions will follow.
Tickets for the free events can be booked via Eventbrite. To find out more email [email protected].
As part of an initiative to prevent deaths from knife crime, Avon & Somerset Police have been working with the NHS and defibrillator supplier HeartSafe to install more than 140 ‘bleed kits’ around the region, with the first being unveiled outside Keynsham Library last September.
Such kits allow the public immediate access should a person suffer a catastrophic bleed. They provide initial emergency aid to those in need before an ambulance arrives and help to avoid a potentially tragic outcome.
Included in the kits are trauma dressings and tourniquets to help manage bleeds, as well as gloves, scissors, and an instruction guide.
There is a map showing locations at https://www.heartsafe.org.uk/bleed-kit-map/.
