The use of a weapons detection system at a weapons awareness course where a young man was stabbed to death by another attendee would have “in all likelihood, eliminated the possibility” of the tragedy occurring, says an independent review into the death of Hakim Sillah, aged 18, in Hillingdon, north London (see below).
Hakim, who was fatally stabbed by a 17-year-old male, just weeks after his 18th birthday, was one of 78 victims of homicide by a sharp instrument in 2019/20 aged 18 to 24, according to most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics.
In addition, the statistics show that 3,513 10- to 17-year-olds received a sentence for a knife or offensive weapons offence in 2020/21. A lower number of convictions than the previous year when 4,423 sentences were handed out, a fall likely due to the impact of the pandemic.
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