Mum of musician stabbed to death in London calls on new approach to tackling knife crime

Sandra McMurray, whose son was killed in a stabbing, has called for a new approach to tackling knife crime (Picture: Tony Kershaw / SWNS)

A mum whose son was stabbed to death hours after signing his first record deal wants the government to let young people have a chance to ‘better themselves’.

Sandra McMurray’s son, Jonathan, was killed when he was ambushed in an attack in 2002 as he walked home after a night out with his friends and family.

While there were witnesses to Jonathan’s attack, more than 20 years on police have failed to charge anyone with his murder.

The aspiring musician had just followed his dreams of a career on stage, but his life became another statistic in the ever-growing issue of knife crime across the capital.

So far this year already 29 people have been killed using a knife in London, and according to Scotland Yard, a crime involving a knife happens every 30 minutes.

The Ben Kinsella Trust states there has been an 80 per cent increase in police-recorded offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in the past 10 years across the country.

Earlier this year, research by Metro also revealed that nearly half of murders in the UK have been due to stabbings or violent incidents with a blade.

Sandra, 68, told Metro: ‘Every day somebody is being shot or being stabbed.

‘They [youngsters] have nowhere to go, nothing to do. It’s [crime] an easy road for them.’

Mrs McMurray said: ‘He had just got started when his life was cut short’

Jonathan, 20, was killed in a knife attack in 2002 (Picture: Courtesy of McMurray Family) The streets of north London were lined with friends and family of Jonathan’s after he was killed in 2006(Picture: Courtesy of McMurray Family)

She added that the Government should focus on helping youths build their career.

She said: ‘Young people are our future. They are dying on the streets. Give them the opportunity. If not, they just go on the streets.

They are our future, and they have to be allowed to better themselves.’

It comes as a new survey revealed that one in seven young people believe a new national approach is needed to knife crime.

New research has found more than eight out of ten 16-24 year olds remain sceptical about laws to restrict the sale of knives, with more than 70 per cent saying the legislation addresses the symptom rather than the cause.

Mrs McMurray was scathing of ministers’ efforts to tackle knife crime and she said: ‘They just buy them online. They think knives will protect themselves.’

‘They’re just lining their pockets, increasing their salaries. We voted for Labour to change things for us.

‘We voted thinking it would change this for us. [But} they do nothing.’

Dr Mark Prince OBE, who leads the Kiyan Prince Foundation, in memory of his son, who was stabbed to death in 2006, also spoke to Metro about the new data.

As part of Knife Crime Awareness Week, Mark has been speaking about the issues surrounding young people and knife crime.

He said young people have been ‘let down dramatically’ and need support to tackle crime, and that a new long-term approach is needed to take on societal issues and help young people off the streets and into careers.

He told the Metro: ‘I have spoken for years about a public health approach.

‘’We are robbing the world of children with unfinished stories.

‘We have let them down dramatically. You can’t just throw the stone at them. What’s happening is that children are having their lives finished by other children.

He said young people needed proper support and assistance to achieve their goals and move away from gangs.

‘Give them space to improve’, he said. ‘Help them to see things in a different light. Then understand the success model. What do you have to do to get success?

‘If we don’t put something in place to help them realise: ‘This is the support I have been looking for’, they will start to implode and that impacts on society.’

Dr Mark Prince OBE, the founder of the Kiyan Prince Foundation, says young people have been ‘let down dramatically’ by a failed approach to knife crime

‘What we are seeing is a break down’, he said.

‘And now they [children] have access to the world so they know what’s going on.’

He continued: ‘Education is not meeting their needs. Everything is going up in price but wages haven’t. If you start breaking the family, you are going to to have very serious consequences.

‘If we care enough and we make it top of our agenda, we can do it. There can be a difference if we really care. It’s more achievable than people think.

‘We are criminalising when we need to be encouraging.’

He suggested that ministers should look over the border for a solution.

‘In Scotland they took action, and it’s not an issue like it was before. Why aren’t we doing the same?’

He continued: ‘Our job as parents isn’t just to provide the physical needs for our children, we have to help them understand their emotional and spiritual needs. It takes a village to raise a child, but the villagers aren’t on the same page.

‘If the villagers say this kind of behaviour is cool, if in fashion, they are selling balaclavas. In every area, there are issues.

He said businesses had to play their role in ensuring young people’s welfare rather than simply profiting from them.

Kiyan Prince (pictured) was stabbed to death by a fellow pupil outside their school in Edgware, northwest London (Picture: The Kiyan Prince Foundation)

‘We need a new narrative. We need to find out what’s hard for young people, negative influences, and show them positive influences. We need a system that’s fit for purpose.

‘What we are finding is that young people who are doing well and have passed exams, you will find them falling down very easily with the simplest challenge.

‘It’s about giving them the mental health support and showing them how to tackle life’s challenges. It’s about teaching the character we need that allows you to become successful.

‘Young people take these tales for life. That’s our job as parents and teachers.’

But he added that the strategy needed to be supported with robust measures to tackle crime.

‘In terms of what [young people] are doing with a knife, there’s no consequence. There’s a slap on the wrist.’ This has resulted in a lost of faith in the policing system, he says.

He said without the work his charity was doing to help young people through activities such as boxing and football, things would be even worse.

‘Until the Government jump in line we are holding up the fort.

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