Clare Moody reflects on dignity and love shown at moving event in memory of Eddie Kinuthia

A message from PCC Clare Moody:

“Being involved in policing means I spend more time than most hearing about the devastation of people’s lives.  It also means I see the strength of the human spirit, even at the most difficult times.

“This week I joined a community event to rename a park the Eddie King Park in St Paul’s in memory of a young man named Eddie Kinuthia.

“Eddie spent time in this park while he was growing up in this part of Bristol and, very sadly, was only 19-years-old when he lost his life to knife crime in July 2023.

“His mother Irene, and his Pastor Stephen McEwen, among others, spoke of the Eddie King Park becoming a place of sanctuary, remembrance, peace and hope for others. They brought immense dignity and love, as well as strength, to a very moving event.

“Irene and her family have shown this dignity throughout.  Last week they heard that three people have been charged with Eddie’s murder.  These charges follow the convictions in December for those responsible for the murders of Darrian Williams in Easton in February 2024, and Mason Rist and Max Dixon in Knowle in January 2024.  Too many families have had to find the strength to endure this grief.  And it feels like the toll has been relentless for our communities. 

“The charges and convictions followed the perseverance and diligence of the police investigation teams – the officers involved have worked hard to deliver justice for all these victims and have felt their responsibility to them deeply.

“These cases involve children and young people as the victims and in some cases children as the perpetrators. Young people should not have their lives taken away or have to go through devastating experiences of losing friends or school mates. My role, as Police and Crime Commissioner, carries the privilege and the responsibility of doing all I can to prevent young people being involved in such tragedies. 

“Before young people get to the point of becoming the victims or perpetrators in these devastating events, and the police have to come in to deal with the tragic consequences, there will have been many missed opportunities for intervention and prevention.

“We need robust prevention strategies, strong community engagement, and collaboration across agencies to address the root causes of serious violence, because if the police are reacting to these horrific events, then it’s already too late.

“That’s why ‘Reducing Violent Crime’ and ‘Prevention’ are two of the five priorities in my Police and Crime Plan. We have to put long term solutions in place to reach children and young people at those points where we can change the course of their life. We need our young people to feel safe and to be able to flourish.

“My office runs the Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP), which works together with partners to assess where support is most needed and the interventions that will have the most amount of impact.

“Last year, in Bristol alone, their work reached over 500 professionals through workshops and training and over 1,600 young people received support which ranged from one-to-one mentoring, detached youth work, in school prevention workshops, and education inclusion work.

“The VRP recently produced a guide for parents and carers who may wish to start difficult conversations with young people in their lives on violence and exploitation, or who want to access support. You can view the guide and read more about their work on the VRP website www.asvrp.co.uk  

“The causes of serious violence and knife crime are complex and deep rooted and there is more that we must and will continue to do through delivery of the Police and Crime Plan; working through the VRP and with community organisations and partners to bring about change, keep people safe and build a positive future for children and young people.”