Bury is taking a stand against violence and aggression and raising awareness of the issue of knife crime.
The National Monument Against Violence and Aggression, Knife Angel, made from more than 100,000 seized knives, will visit Bury this March.
It stands at 27 feet tall and weighs more than 3 tonnes and created by the artist Alfie Bradley from knives surrendered and collected in nationwide amnesties during 2015/2016.
It highlights the negative effects of violent behaviour whilst addressing our need for social change and has been touring the country.
The Knife Angel will be situated near the intersection of The Rock and Tithebarn Street from 1 March – 27 March 2024. It aims to raise awareness and educate people on the impacts of knife crime, and violent and aggressive behaviour on communities.
Bringing the Knife Angel to the town is being led by the Bury BID (Business Improvement District) with Bury Council and Greater Manchester Police.
The arrival of the sculpture will be marked with an opening event on 1 March. A month-long programme of educational events, workshops and community events will support the message of The Knife Angel. There will also be a closing ceremony, with further details to follow.
The Knife Angel has already toured various towns across the country and now it is Bury’s turn. It took artist Alfie Bradley four years to create at the British Ironwork Centre in Oswestry, Shropshire.
Further information: https://discoverbury.co.uk/knife-angel/
National Youth Anti-Violence Champions
As part of the nationwide bid to create social change in order to help end violent behaviour within our communities, The British Ironwork Centre have created the national youth ‘Anti-Violence Champions’ initiative. Designed specifically to change the way that children and young people perceive violence, they are asking every host location to help us by deputising a minimum of 10,000 children and young people to renounce violence as a means of solving disputes, issues and disagreements. It is hoped that this initiative will further unite our young people and bring us that little bit closer to creating the social change necessary to fully turn the tide on violent and aggressive behaviour.
Support Services
- Greater Manchester Police - Greater Manchester Police (gmp.police.uk)
- Victim Services - Greater Manchester Victims' Services (gmvictims.org.uk)
Additional information
Greater Manchester Police
Operation Sycamore is Greater Manchester Police’s response to tackling serious violent crime, with a focus on knife crime. The aim of the operation is to prevent and reduce serious violent crime and raise awareness of the dangers of knife crime.
Further information about this can be found at: Tackling knife crime | Greater Manchester Police. The link also includes information about the Knife Amnesty #ForeverAmnesty, advice and support for young people about the consequences of knife crime and advice and support for parents and carers in identifying knife crime ad what to look out for.
Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit
The Violence Reduction Unit brings together Greater Manchester Police, National Probation Service, health and education professionals, youth justice and local authorities to address the underlying causes of violent crime and work together with communities to prevent it.
It forms part of Greater Manchester’s approach to tackling serious violent crime, which includes making sure victims of violent crime get the right support and improving the criminal justice response to all forms of serious violence. Further information can be found at: Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit.
Serious Violence Duty
The Serious Violence Duty is government legislation that makes councils and local services work together to share information and target interventions to prevent and reduce serious violence.
See how Bury is committed to the Serious Violence Duty.
For further information go to Serious Violence Duty - GOV.UK.