Derby feels on edge over knife crime - campaigner

"If you walk down this high street in Derby today, I would hazard a guess that people are going to say generally, 'we don't feel safe'."

Danny Mondesir, a veteran knife crime campaigner who leads the Street Whyze project, says the city "feels on edge".

The statistics show serious knife offences in Derbyshire have risen by 14% in the last year, compared with a 10% reduction across England and Wales, but the city remains well below the national average.

Last month, there were three serious incidents involving knives over the space of two days in the city, prompting both the council and police to release a statement.

Mondesir said: "If you ask people about knife crime, they would say, particularly around the most recent events over the past year in Derby, some of which have been very, very high profile and concerning for the residents, they will say that knife crime continues to be a major issue and concern."

Derbyshire's knife crime figures are still significantly lower than the national rate, with 68 knife offences recorded for every 100,000 people compared with a rate of 80 across England and Wales.

Police also said total crime in the city centre during Friday and Saturday nights had seen an 8.7% decrease year on year, and the force had increased the number of weapons seizures by officers.

"The [licensed] venues obviously need to look at what's taking place within their venue, [but they are] limited to what they can do outside of that venue... the authorities need to clarify what venues need to do, [and] they need to look at whether or not that is actually realistic," Mondesir added.

Councillor Sarah Chambers, cabinet member for communities, equalities and public safety at the city council, said she would welcome the opportunity to meet with Mondesir to discuss his concerns.

"We understand concerns raised by residents regarding public safety and knife crime on our city's high streets, and we are committed to tackling crime through strong partnership work and targeted initiatives," Chambers said.

"As the licensing authority, we work closely with the police to ensure that venues remain safe, and should incidents occur, steps are taken to mitigate the situation, including licensing reviews."

One bar owner who has expressed concerns about knife crime is Rick Perdesi, owner of R Lounge in Victoria Street.

He posted signs on the premises which said people should think twice about visiting the city and the council needed to start tackling knife crime.

This came after he lost the licence to run the bar last month.

Derbyshire Police said it had serious concerns about the management of the bar after a "serious incident involving a firearms discharge and ongoing concerns regarding disorder".

The force added it had "a concern that further serious incidents could take place" and made an application to Derby City Council to review the premise's licence.

R Lounge had its licence suspended on 1 May after police made the application to the council. A full hearing took place later the same month and the decision was made by the council to revoke the venue's licence entirely.

A spokesperson for the council added that its licensing committee acts "strictly in accordance with the law to uphold public safety and prevent crime and disorder".

"Following a serious incident involving a firearms discharge and ongoing concerns regarding disorder, Derbyshire Constabulary made an application to the council to review the premises' licence," they added.

Rick claims that from his perspective he "100%" complied with his responsibilities as a licence holder in the city.

Police have said that knife crime offences as a whole have come down 11% since their peak in the city in the year to March 2022.

Supt Lyndsey Curtis, of Derbyshire Police, said the impact of knife crime on local communities was "significant" and officers had seen "the devastating impact for victims and their families first-hand" after recent incidents involving knives.

She said revocation of a licence was "a very rare occurrence" and the force had only sought a review on three premises in the last year, one of which was R Lounge.

"The answer to reducing the risk of knife crime is not to reduce the expectations and safety measures at premises - and premises across the city work proactively with us to continuously strive to make our city as safe as it can be," Supt Curtis added.

A spokesperson for Derbyshire Police added: "We had serious concerns about the management of [R Lounge], its ability to keep the public safe and a concern that further serious incidents could take place.

"The force has well established policing plans across the city - and in particular around the Wardwick area.

"While we will always be looking to improve our policing response in Derby and make the city ever safer, it is key that licensees take their responsibilities seriously."

Listen to BBC Radio Derby on Sounds and follow BBC Derby on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.