Pupils told ‘think lives, not knives’ (From Keighley News)

Pupils told ‘think lives, not knives’

10:23am Thursday 9th July 2009

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School pupils in Keighley have been told they could end up dead or in prison if they carry a knife or gun.

Images from firearms operations carried out by the police were shown to students at Holy Family Catholic School.

The presentation formed part of a weapon awareness campaign and was intended to leave students in little doubt as to how seriously the police take the issue of carrying weapons.

‘Think Life, Not Knife’ was delivered by PC Rory Romani, of West Yorkshire Police’s Operations Support division. He told students how the police Firearms Support Unit (FSU) responded to incidents such as armed robberies or reports of someone carrying a knife.

He said: “If you are armed, it won’t be my unarmed colleagues who are coming to see you – it will be us.”

He showed the pupils a baton gun and a taser device, both considered to be “less than lethal”. He then showed them the guns used by armed response police.

He said officers only had a fraction of a second to decide if a gun was real or imitation and must assume the worst until a suspect was disarmed. In order to drive home the message, the session featured an interview with the parents of Rhys Jones.

Eleven-year-old Rhys was shot dead by an 18-year-old gang member in Liverpool in 2007.

The campaign is being staged in Keighley as part of a wider police education programme for schools in Bradford district.

PC Romani said: “Think Life Not Knife is as straight to the point as the motto that was created for it.

“It is all about prevention through education. If we can stop one person carrying a knife or gun then we would see this project as a success.”

Superintendent Gary Baker, of Airedale and North Bradford Police, said: “Having experts come across here from Operations Support will provide our young people with a real insight into the horrendous damage weapons can cause from officers who see their effects every day.”

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