The Knife Angel is a national monument made of over 100,000 knives surrendered to police services across Britain serving as a stark and emotive reminder of the dangers and impact of knife crime.

The Knife Angel will raise awareness of the devastating impact knife crime can have on young people. The competition aims to use the medium of art for young people to express how they feel about the monument, knife crime and their perceptions of violence.

The competition is open to any resident in Hertfordshire under 25 years old, with one category for Primary School-age pupils, and another for secondary school-age and up. Entrants under the age of 18 will require permission from a parent, guardian or teacher in order to take part.

Submissions can take the form of any medium – photography, art, poetry – anything that allows young people to express how the Knife Angel and the wider issue of knife crime makes them feel.

To enter the competition, please complete an application form using the Microsoft Forms link below, and email high quality photographs or other files depicting your artwork to knifeangel@herts-police.uk before Friday November 7th at 8pm.

Application form: https://forms.office.com/e/mDrMRJEv05

Full details of the competition’s rules can be found here: OPCC Knife Angel Art competition Ruleset and Media toplines

Students from Years 9 -13 will get the opportunity to see a drama production on Wednesday 15th October linked to the Knife Angel Campaign. Skin Deep is a hard-hitting performance based on true events.Through compelling dialogue and rap music, students follow the story of Denny, a young girl navigating a troubled home life, grooming, gang exploitation, and the devastating consequences of carrying a knife. After the performance students will encouraged to sign up to be Anti Violence Champions

If you would like to see the monument it will be in Welwyn, Hatfield it will be used to launch a month-long programme of intensive anti-violence youth engagement events, within Welwyn Hatfield and across the county, all of which can be seen on our Eventbrite page.

It is also an opportunity to remember all those who have fallen victim to knife crime and violence, and we invite anyone to leave a message in our Book of Reflections.

To kick the proceedings off there will be an opening ceremony on 1 October, in Welwyn Garden City Town centre, and during the month the force and partners will be running county-wide events, initiatives, competitions. There will also be a knife amnesty to raise awareness and bring about a positive change within communities, especially amongst young people.