Hi, to everyone out there, my name is Tammy and I write this petition with a broken heart.

Me and my family fell victims to knife crime this year. I lost the love of my life, my long-life partner Kelvin Ward and my children their father. I am reaching out to you all as I don’t want anyone to fall victim to this horrifying ordeal what me and my family are going through.

Knife crime is a huge problem in the UK, we hear about it everyday. The level of violence is increasing and too often the perpetrators are wearing balaclavas with face coverings as they did when they murdered Kelvin. We are seeing more non-gang related victims such as Kelvin fall target to this cowardly act. 

I just want to make a statement about balaclavas. Balaclavas have become associated with gangs who carry out criminal activities. It’s putting members of society at risk and people are getting away with all sorts of criminal activities as they’re purposely hiding their identity for this reason. 

Hiding behind a mask appears to be coming an everyday thing for the youths of today and it’s worrying. IT IS NOT NORMAL BEHAVIOUR for someone to leave their home wearing face covering armed with a machete which is often concealed down the perpetrators leg. It’s becoming a common occurrence. 

I understand that some of you may say that balaclavas are a fashion accessory and may think it’s an infringement of peoples human rights to be stopped & searched but it’s an infringement of the rights of citizens.

Citizens of all ages are frightened when walking in public areas past those who wear them and it’s affecting their everyday living, causing anxiety and distress. We should be able to see peoples faces and who’s around us.

A large percentage of youths who wear balaclavas are up to no good and we all know it. They are fully aware there are a lot of cameras around as CCTV is everywhere. 

With instant stop & search being in place, the public will have peace of mind and more confidence in the policing service. It could act as a deterrent as the youths won’t want to be searched, therefore won’t carry weapons. Or should the perpetrators commit a crime they can be easily identified from CCTV and witnesses.  

In our case we knew who the perpetrators was as they are a well known local gang, so identifying them was easy due to other traits but not all of you will have the opportunity to identify your perpetrators.

I’m aware there’s already stop & search in place if the police believe an individual is in possession of contraband. However, one of the reasons should be because you are wearing a mask. If implemented onto the current legislation, it will strengthen the response towards knife crime as they appear to go hand in hand. 

A balaclava is becoming an accessory for committing a crime. It’ll be easy for a police officer to search without getting accused of discriminating against different groups. It’s about the person behind the mask. 

If the wearers have nothing to hide then they shouldn’t mind being searched unless there is a valid reason for wearing them such as sporting or religion.

If you were fortunate to know Kelvin, he was a wonderful man. He was a loving partner, father, son, brother and a good friend to many. We didn’t get to say goodbye instead we had to watch videos of his last moments which was horrific. To see the man I love stabbed by savage people then left to die on a road is disgraceful. It’s inhumane. The perpetrators ran off ‘wearing balaclavas’ in the hope they would get away with murder. 

The Government needs to send a message to the perpetrators that we are serious when it comes to knife crime and set strong boundaries. It’s about the Balaclava, not about race or colour. Ask yourself what is their intention? The intention is clear, it’s to cause a serious criminal offence then get away with it. 

In addition to knife crime, if we was attacked, raped or robbed at knife point by a person wearing a balaclava how can we identify that person from their eyes. We could not give an accurate description to the police so that persons identity will not be discovered therefore people have and will continue to get away with the crime they commit. 

It was someone else's news yesterday, ours was on the 18th April 2023, it could be yours tomorrow.

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