On the frontline - what it's like to deal with knife crime as an officer

It was the middle of the night in 2012 when Police Sergeant (then PC) Tom Ashforth and a colleague were the first on the scene of a significant knife attack in Swindon, where a victim had received multiple stab wounds.

When he and a colleague arrived, they were stopped by two men who said their friend had been attacked. Tom, then a response officer, followed one of the men to the scene in west Swindon, where the victim was lying.

Tom said: “After seeing the victim on the floor, I immediately went into first aid mode to try and preserve life – your brain hasn’t got the time to process what has happened but your adrenaline and training kicks in.

“As police, we’re here to prevent and detect crime, but in situations like that we’re there to preserve life and limb.

“Your mind is going a million miles an hour, knowing you must do everything to try and save that person’s life, but you’re also mindful that there’s someone still out there with a knife and you don’t know where they are.

“It was only in the aftermath that I questioned what had just happened?”

Sadly, despite Tom’s, his colleague’s and the ambulance service’s efforts, the victim was pronounced dead a short while later. A trial and conviction of murder resulted from the subsequent investigation.

In the aftermath, Tom – who has been an officer for around 15 years – said although he had never met the victim, he kept thinking about them and the life they’d never know, as well as about their family and friends who had lost a loved one in the blink of an eye after a senseless act.

He explained how he found that compartmentalising such incidents in his head was his way of dealing with them.

He said: “I know many colleagues tend to talk about incidents with one another, as we don’t really want to take it home to our families.

“We are getting much better at dealing with the aftermath of such incidents and we do have great support mechanisms available to us.

“We are people too, with the same emotions, feelings and coping mechanisms as anyone else.

“I was offered TRiM (Trauma Risk Management) but didn’t use it on this occasion, as I felt I had my own coping mechanisms, but I know it has been a great help to me and my colleagues in the past.

“I can still visualise this incident to this day. I have processed it, but you don’t ever forget it. A person lost their life at the hands of another, which is always a senseless and needless tragedy for everyone involved.”

Tom, who is now a Neighbourhood Sergeant for Stratton, Central Swindon North and West, is speaking during Sceptre – a national initiative raising awareness of knife crime and highlighting the ongoing work to tackle the issue.

This has involved officers across Wiltshire Police targeting areas and individuals relating to knife crime, raising awareness of the issue, and using specialist equipment, such as knife arches, to deter and detect the carrying of weapons.

Tom cites the importance of first aid training which he regularly receives as a police officer and hopes it might one day be taught to the wider population, describing it as “something you may not know you need, until you do. And when you do, it could be the difference in saving someone’s life.”

He also encouraged parents to speak and engage with their children in relation to personal safety and the dangers of carrying weapons.

If parents have concerns, they can speak to Wiltshire Police who will proactively engage with individuals on the issue.

Tom added: “My colleagues and I are more than willing to engage with anyone who raises such concerns and provide advice and support.

“We look to engage further through schools and local groups to tackle the issue. We don’t want the carrying of weapons to become a normal activity – it has to stop for everyone’s sake.

“If you carry a knife or associate with those who do, then it goes without saying that you’re more likely to be involved in an incident where serious harm, or worse, occurs.

“If you actively decide to take a knife out with you, there’s always the risk you’ll use it.

“As such, Wiltshire Police will continue with intervention programs and initiatives on the issue, but will also continue take a firm stance against those who habitually carry knives and weapons.”

#SCEPTRE