Mum of stabbed teen fears more lives will be lost

The mother of a teenager who was stabbed to death said she fears history could repeat itself.

Emma Dix, who with her family started an anti-knife crime charity after the murder of her son Joe, 18, on Norwich's Mile Cross estate in 2022, was speaking at a community meeting.

Mrs Dix, who organised the event, said it was "only a matter of time" before another young life was lost.

Supt Wes Hornigold, from Norfolk Police, said: "We're working really hard to disrupt, prevent, and robustly respond to people in our community who decide to carry a knife."

The Joe Dix Foundation was launched in 2023 to raise awareness of knife crime and child criminal exploitation.

Tuesday's meeting was held to address Mile Cross residents' concerns.

"This is the area that Joe lost his life in, and I'm really passionate that no other child loses their life like my son," said Mrs Dix.

"There's an awful lot that needs to be done, and I don't think anything's going to happen very quickly."

"Today was a start, and it's about getting like-minded people together to see what we can do," she added.

Annual crime statistics, released by the Office of National Statistics in April, showed that knife crime had fallen in Norfolk by 6.6% in 2024.

It also showed that the possession of a weapon had increased by 0.8%.

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One resident at the meeting, who declined to give her name, said she was frightened knife crime could affect her children when they grow up.

"You want them to be safe, but you also need to give them freedom," she said.

"I'm terrified of giving them that freedom."

Another resident, who also declined to give her name, said she wanted to highlight the impact knife crime has on the whole community.

"It's not just affecting young children, it's affecting me and I'm nearly 70," she said.

"It makes me feel quite scared actually, it intimidates you."

Gill Baker, 63, did not attend the meeting, but was visiting family on the Mile Cross estate from her home in Hastings, East Sussex.

"Compared to where I live, it's OK.

"Knife crime, drugs, alcoholism - it's everywhere," she said.

"It doesn't matter where you go, it's rife. We need more police."

Supt Hornigold, who was at the meeting, said the Norfolk force was working across the county to tackle knife crime.

"We understand that one incident involving a knife is one too many," he said.

"We will see those times when incidents spike, but we are committed to robustly responding and having a real partnership approach to the way in which we tackle knife crime and violence."

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