Issue - meetings

This Council notes:

1.      In the year ending March 2020, there were around 46,000 (selected) offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in England and Wales.

2.      293 knife or sharp instrument offences recorded by police in Gloucestershire between 2021 and 2022

3.      The ONS reported that more than 46,000 offences involving knives or sharp instruments were recorded by police in the year ending March 2020.

4.      Gloucester city has a growing young population and has witnessed an increase of violent crime in recent years involving knives and sharp objects.

5.      One of the most recent incidents at the time of submitting this motion involved a teenager who suffered a significant knife wound after being stabbed in at a Gym at our Gloucester Docks.

6.      Tackling knife crime and violence is a key priority for the Council which requires a whole system approach. This is addressed not just by Gloucester City Council, but in partnership with other key agencies such as the Gloucestershire Police, Police Crime Commissoner, public health and wider partners in the County Council.

7.      Gloucester City Council Community well being team is committed to investigate the effectiveness of bleed control kits in saving lives and to assess the first aid training available in schools and will make a recommendation to the Community Safety Partnership on the intervention for consideration of inclusion in its Action Plan.

      This Council believes:

1.      That every measure needs to be taken to save the lives of victims of violent knife crime and congratulates The Ramarni Trust for its work in promoting the use and installation of Bleed Control Kits around the City.

2.      The Ramarni Trust was established by his family after Ramarni was stabbed to death in December 2021.

3.      A Bleed Control Kit is a small critical injury pack which contains specialised dressings, a tourniquet, instructions and other specialised medical supplies designed to stop or control the severe bleeding that often follows when someone is stabbed.

4.      The public access kits are designed to be used by non-emergency personnel in much the same way that heart defibrillators ('shock machines') specifically designed for use by those with no First Aid training are becoming a common sight in Gloucester and the UK.

5.      While we still need an effective Public Health approach to reduce the catastrophe that is knife crime, Bleed Control Kits can be another way to treat victims.

This Council resolves:

1.      To direct support the Community Wellbeing team to work with The Ramarni Trust, the NHS, Gloucestershire Police Service and the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust to develop the best strategy for the deployment of Bleed Control Kits across the City of Gloucester.

2.      To seek sponsorship of Bleed Control Kits from commercial partners to reduce costs of purchase and installation go Bleed Control Cabinets.

3.      To work with introduce First Aid training into every Gloucester City secondary schools and colleges classroom in the City of Gloucester to assess the  ...  view the full agenda text for item 10