'Banning knives won't solve knife crime - we need urgent action for young people'

After his lived experience, Sosa believes a weapon prohibition won't halt young radical from carrying weapons and crime. Instead he's demanding much enactment and opportunities for the youth

A erstwhile unfortunate of pack grooming is demanding urgent enactment to assistance young people, aft a spate of fatal stabbings crossed the country.

Sosa Henkoma insisted a weapon prohibition won't lick weapon crime, and "it's astir creating opportunities for young radical alternatively than sitting down and shutting them down”. He understands first-hand however fear, deficiency of enactment and constricted opportunities tin propulsion younger radical toward a beingness of crime. Reflecting connected his acquisition of pack grooming and abandonment, Sosa told the Mirror: “If a young idiosyncratic does not consciousness harmless successful their environment, they’re going to locomotion with knives.

“They’re going to support doing what they’re doing. We request to reprogram their mindset. It’s creating opportunities for these young radical alternatively than shutting them down.”

Henkoma believes a prohibition connected knives volition not halt the pandemic of weapon crime. He added: “The honorable information astir it is that you tin prohibition everything but that does not halt nothing. You request to thatch these radical and virtually make that situation wherever they consciousness safe.”

Four radical person died from alleged weapon transgression this twelvemonth already. As these numbers grow, efforts to combat the contented increase. Sosa, an advocator and mentor, works to code the basal causes of younker unit and crime.

Through delivering grooming sessions and moving connected improving policies, Henkoma collaborates with the constabulary and the location office. He regularly mentors younker referred by societal services and probation officers driven by his content that “If you privation to marque a change, you’ve got to go that change”.

Sosa’s travel into advocacy is genuinely personal, from the property of 11 years aged helium was groomed into a beingness of transgression and pack civilization and by 12 helium was ‘gifted’ a weapon and a bulletproof vest for his birthday, astatine the clip helium sought assistance nevertheless owed to the deficiency of knowing of grooming and exploitation by societal services, his cries for assistance were ignored.

It wasn’t until Sosa was successful prison, erstwhile a trauma-informed organisation challenged him to spot his acquisition differently, helium realised helium was exploited. The realisation of this, became his turning point.

Sosa hopes with his lived acquisition volition dispersed consciousness of what is going on, arsenic good arsenic a reminder that immoderate situation you are in, you tin achieve. “There is simply a mode retired of that lifestyle, I bash interviews to amusement them you tin person a voice.”

There were 244 deaths involving a weapon oregon a crisp point successful England and Wales successful the twelvemonth ending March 2024, with 84 of the victims nether 25, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).. For the families of the victims, 1 question is near unanswered - however could this person been prevented? Every nonaccomplishment highlights the urgent request for systemic alteration to support susceptible children, to support imaginable victims.

Sosa believes children are groomed due to the fact that of deficiency of enactment and the unit to gain money. He said: “We request to thatch affectional quality and make pathways for young radical to spot the possibilities beyond their existent circumstances. For me, it started by knowing the system, not conscionable from my lived experience, but from an extracurricular constituent of view.”

Sosa hopes that with efforts from himself and different initiatives, determination is anticipation to make a amended aboriginal and perpetually reminds children "Your past doesn’t specify who you are - it builds the spot you request to make your future, determination is ever a mode out. I’ve been wherever you are and I privation you to cognize there’s much than life.”