Crime and community safety summit takes place

Katherine Johnson, whose 16-year-old son, Kamari, was fatally stabbed, wants to tackle violence in the community

A special event has taken place in a town which has seen a high number of stabbings, so communities and professionals can tackle issues of crime and disorder together.

The first ever Slough Crime and Community Safety Summit took place at Arbour Park in Slough on Friday, organised by the Safer Slough Partnership.

It set out to highlight the issues of anti-social behaviour, organised crime, and prevention strategies, with workshops covering domestic abuse, alternatives to conflict, and how to use bleed kits.

Katherine Johnson, whose 16-year-old son, Kamari, was killed in nearby Hayes, west London, in 2024, said more organisations should get involved in the fight against knife crime.

Ms Johnson is a member of Communities Against Violence, and said she was sure the non-profit organisation that tackles violence in the community was saving lives.

She told the BBC. "We've just heard some statistics from the meeting that say knife crime has gone down in this area.

"But young people and some elderly people still don't feel safe."

Dwayne Nathan Jack said boys were being groomed into crime gangs

Dwayne Nathan Jack said he was six years-old when he started getting involved with crime gangs in Slough.

He now acts as a motivational speaker.

He said: "Knife crime is just a by-product of what's going on within that household. It's trauma.

"You've got young boys growing up fatherless, finding that need on the streets.

"Then they've got all the boys that are helping them, supporting them... But they they're being exploited and groomed.

"I was exploited and groomed at the age of 13 by a 23-year-old because my dad wasn't around."

Julie Siddiqui, who co-founded Mothers Together following the death of Elton Gashaj in Slough in 2019, said: "We can only get on top of this if we have a joined-up approach."

Other organisations hosting stalls at the event included knife crime prevention charity the Ben Kinsella Trust, Street Guardians, domestic abuse service Cranstoun, elder abuse service Hourglass, drug and alcohol support from Turning Point, Thames Valley Police, and Slough Borough Council's community safety, resilience, enforcement and housing team.

Ahead of the summit, councillor Ejaz Ahmed, lead Slough Borough Council lead member for communities, sport, leisure and public protection, said it would be an "interesting and thought-provoking" event that would "help start engaging discussions and build lasting partnerships".