Haverhill mum restarts campaign over knife crime sentences

Bernice Barfield is calling for mandatory jail sentences for those found carrying knives

A grieving mother said recent news had "fuelled" her to restart her campaign for mandatory jail sentences for people found carrying knives.

Bernice Barfield, from Haverhill in Suffolk, has launched a second online petition.

Her 16-year-old son Harley was murdered in January 2023, having been stabbed at least 12 times by another boy.

"Every day there's another news story, another life lost. I have to speak out," said Mrs Barfield.

"I want to see mandatory 12-month prison sentences for first time offenders, increasing for repeat offenders, alongside a mandatory six-month knife awareness course for rehabilitation in the community."

The mother of the Nottingham attacks victim Grace O'Malley-Kumar, and the mother of a Manchester knife victim, have both called for mandatory prison terms.

Bernice Barfield hopes the new petition will reach 100,000 signatures, so that it can be considered for debate in Parliament

Mrs Barfield initially created a petition using the global platform Change.org and gained more than 62,000 signatures.

But she has since been told by her local independent MP Matt Hancock that the government only debate petitions that gain 100,000 signatures and are completed via the Petition Parliament website.

"To be told that those signatures couldn't count was quite a setback. I asked if I could print them off, would they carry forward into this petition, but was told 'no'," she said.

Harley Barfield, 16, was stabbed to death in Haverhill following a dispute with another boy about a girl

Mrs Barfield's new page on the Petition Parliament website has received 5,000 signatures since it began in January, and Mrs Barfield has been using social media to spread awareness.

"I will do everything I can to try to make that happen," she said.

A spokesperson for Mr Hancock said: "Matt is deeply moved by Bernice Barfield's courageous campaign to advocate for stronger anti-knife crime laws.

"Bernice's initial petition has clearly struck a chord, having already collected nearly 60,000 signatures. Now Bernice's latest petition is on the Parliament Petition website, Matt urges people to sign it so that this important debate can take place."

The government meanwhile has introduced new rules to Parliament to criminalise the sale and ownership of knives and machetes that were not covered by previous legislation in England and Wales.

The actor Idris Elba has said there is no "one size fits all" answer to tackling knife crime, highlighting that some people feel compelled to carry knives out of fear.