Local businesses commended for work in bringing Knife Angel to Chesterfield
Local businesses and organisations in Chesterfield were commended for their efforts in bringing the poigniant ‘Knife Angel’ sculpture to the town.
The sculpture, made out of discarded blades was created to raise awareness of the dangers of knife crime. The monument went on display in Chesterfield, near the famous Crooked Spire church in October/ November 2021.
Now, the businesses and organisations which enabled the visit to happen have been awarded with commendations by Derbyshire Constabulary’s North Divisional Commander, Chief Superintendent Hayley Barnett.
The organisations commended included Leverton UK, Pinewood Properties, Ava Print, Chesterfield Borough Council, The Community Safety Partnership and The Crooked Spire.
Marcus Leverton, Director of Leverton UK explained their vital role in bringing the sculpture to the town. He commented: “Inspector Mathew Winterbottom is a close friend and he asked me prior to the event if we could help with the secure fencing that was to be erected and dismantled on a daily basis to prevent any potential problems with people mistreating the sculpture at night-time.
“We as a company provided this service free-of-charge for the duration of time that the sculpture was in chesterfield. It was important to us as a business to be involved with this scheme, as with most people I have spoken to the sculpture is quite a powerful statement and very moving when you understand that each knife used was from real life crime, some cases were even fatal.
“It was an important message for the Police to get out there, to raise local awareness and to call for a knife amnesty to prevent any further unnecessary deaths or injury through knife crime.
“We were very proud to be involved and it was great work from the full team who contributed to this project’s success.”
Councillor Jill Mannion-Brunt, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: “The Knife Angel brought a very powerful and moving message about the horrific reality of knife crime – one which thousands of people had chance to reflect on when they visited the sculpture in Chesterfield town centre.
“Chesterfield is a safe place to live, and we want to keep it that way, by working with our partners to lead hard-hitting and difficult conversations with our young people. Through a variety of engagement and awareness sessions, the Knife Angel’s visit has prompted these discussions, which is a really positive result.”
During the monument’s visit, Derbyshire Police and Chesterfield Borough Council gave people the opportunity to surrender any unwanted knives, and as a result more than 100 knives and bladed articles were taken into safe keeping and off the streets.
Leverton UK, Pinewood Properties and Parish Church of St. Mary and All Saints support the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 200 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.
