DOZENS of young people learned about the dangers of carrying a knife.
Around 100 teenagers took part in the education event at Brian Jackson House on New North Parade.
Pc Paul Jackson gave a presentation and showed the young people some of the knives found on the streets of Huddersfield.
The event was organised by Kirklees Council’s Young People’s Service as part of National Child Safety Week.
Jennifer Simon is the service’s area team leader for Huddersfield South. She believes the session was valuable.
“It was a really good evening,’’ she said. “It showed the young people how to keep themselves safe.
“As youth workers we have to send out a strong message that you never know when knife crime is going to happen.”
Jennifer added: “Pc Jackson brought an educational DVD with him which showed some of the things that can happen when you carry a knife. It gave out the very clear message that you shouldn’t carry a knife.”
Pc Jackson, who is a youth services officer, said it was vital to get the message across to young people that knives were wrong.
“We need to do all we can to reduce the number of knife incidents that we have.
“I showed the young people a number of knives that we have confiscated in this town and tried to get across the message that knives are always offensive weapons, rather than defensive ones, and should not be carried.
“They also got to see the effects of knives, with CCTV footage of incidents and also photographs of some of the terrible injuries that they have caused”.
The event also included workshops about other aspects of safety, including self-defence and sexual health.
The session was attended by more than 100 young people aged 13 to 19, some of whom came from as far away as Batley.
