Police 'robustly targeting' people carrying knives

Jack Patterson was jailed for nine years on Friday after he admitted Mr Qureshi's manslaughter

A senior police officer said his force is determined to stamp out knife crime after a teenager was jailed for stabbing a man to death.

Jack Patterson, 18, admitted killing Temur Qureshi, 19, in Slough in September 2023 and was jailed for nine years last Friday.

Ch Insp Ash Smith, deputy local policing area commander for Slough, said Thames Valley Police will “robustly target” any person carrying a knife.

Mr Qureshi’s mother Tatiana made an impassioned plea to end knife crime on Monday.

Mr Qureshi had a young daughter

After Mr Qureshi's best friend Abdul Aziz Ansari was stabbed to death by a teenager in May 2022, he described knife crime as "a pandemic and we need to find a cure”.

Mr Smith said: “We know the public wants to see police officers on the streets. We are committed to getting as many police officers out and about from our neighbourhood policing teams [and] to be as visible as possible.

“I ask members of the public to come up to talk to officers. They are out and about in Slough.”

He added: “Ultimately knife crime and serious violence will not be tolerated in Slough. We will robustly target any person thinking it’s a good idea to walk the streets in possession of a knife.

“We need to work with our partners and communities to tackle serious violence and knife crime. We’re committed to doing that and we’ve made some really good progress.”

Temur Qureshi's mother, Tatiana, said her son was "my world, my reason for breathing"

Patterson, of Stile Road, Slough, killed Mr Qureshi in Hampden Road in the town at about 11:20 BST on 30 September 2023.

A Home Office post-mortem examination found father-of-one Mr Qureshi died of a haemorrhage and a stab wound to the left lung.

In April, a jury at Reading Crown Court cleared Patterson of murder but found him guilty of carrying a knife.

He had admitted manslaughter earlier.