"We need to stop this now, before we lose another young person" says chief inspector as police patrols stepped up in Luton

Extra patrols in Luton following a fatal stabbing of a teenage boy aim to provide reassurance, rather than being too obtrusive and leading to fear, according to Bedfordshire Police.

The force’s communities chief inspector for Luton Alex House said: “This is in the aftermath of such a tragic event of the death of a very young person through knife crime.

“I’ve teenage children myself not dissimilar to the age of the young people involved in this incident and it makes my blood run cold to think that this could happen to them.”

“Residents need answers and updates, so the aim is to get as many people as we can, around 160 altogether in two sessions this evening, and to discuss their concerns,” explained Chief Insp House.

“We need collectively – that’s police, our partners and communities – to stop this now before we lose another young person.

“The key will be to convey some of the good work being done by those agencies and voluntary groups but also produce an action plan around how we operate better together. Clearly, there’s more to be done.

“We’ve put extra officers on the streets around the schools, not in front of the premises as the teachers are clear they want to own that area around their school gates and quite rightly so.

“We don’t want to increase the fear of harm where these incidents are fairly isolated. But we’re patrolling to offer that reassurance and we’re on hand nearby in the wake of this to prevent anything else happening.”

Asked if this could happen again, he replied: “If there was an easy answer to that, it would have been done by now.

“The answer is we work collaboratively, so we’ve a cohesive response to prevent more people from carrying knives and reduce the likelihood of it.

“More officers on the street means additional enforcement around this and extra ability to interact with young people. But it’s the same with our partner services within LBC which are doing plenty with very little, just like us.”

Labour Leagrave Luton borough councillor Maria Lovell said: “It’s a really sad time for the whole community and our thoughts remain with the bereaved family and the other families which have been impacted.

“All of us have been affected by what’s happened in the past week. It’s tragic and it won’t take one single gathering to find the solutions.”

Asked whether it had touched a raw nerve, the local authority’s portfolio holder for community safety councillor Lovell agreed, saying: “It has for many people because of the circumstances under which it happened have really triggered emotions within the town.

“We’ve all had enough of seeing our young people (impacted by) the knife crime, the violence and losing their lives. I feel this is a game changer for our town to use this senseless incident and turn it into positive change for our young people.”