Published: Wednesday, 30th July, 2008 12:00
Stab victim bids to cut knife crime
By Hamish Hutchinson
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Street Sense will tackle Scotland's knife culture.
Pic by: Jan van der Merwe
A STAB victim who lost his spleen and kidney in a vicious knife attack will show teenagers the frightening reality of knife crime in a hard-hitting project.
Mark Lawrie, from Alloa, was just 17 when he was brutally stabbed 10 times in the head and body by a school friend high on drink and drugs.
His injuries were so severe that doctors had to remove his damaged spleen and kidney, his lung was punctured and his diaphragm had to be operated on.
In Scotland, levels of knife crime are three and a half times higher than in England and Wales with nearly 12,000 stab victims last year.
Although Clackmannanshire does not experience the same levels of knife crime as cities such as Glasgow, there is a worry that youngsters will adopt the knife culture.
Now aged 23, Mark is one of a small group of volunteers from Street Sense – an NHS Forth Valley project designed to take a pro-active approach to prevent drink, drug and knife related crime.
Already 820 children from Alloa Academy, Lornshill Academy, Alva Academy, Grangemouth High and various Forth Valley youth groups have benefited from the project.
Pupils participate in workshops where they are educated on the dangers of alcohol, the trauma of going through the court system and the harsh reality of life behind bars.
Vulnerable youngsters are paid particular attention too with an intensive eight-week programme.
Mark talks candidly to the children about his troubled life of booze and crime and how he turned things around.
He told the Advertiser, “When you first talk to the youngsters they think it’s all new to get smashed. I’ve been involved in Street Sense since I was 21 and before the project I would drink Monday to Monday.”
Things took a turn for the worse for Mark when he was on the receiving end of a blade after getting involved in a fight with his school mates.
He said, “I was punched in the face and went to rugby tackle him. The boy came back at me and stabbed me in the head. All it took was 20 seconds. I was at school with the boy and we’d have a carry on together but because he was under the influence of alcohol and ecstasy it clouded his judgment.
“One person can take a drink and have a laugh and be all right, but another will drink and start smashing faces and it’s the same with drugs.”
While some may parade their scars as a badge of honour, Mark felt embarrassed by them.
It took him more than three years to pluck up the courage to once again take his top off during the hot summer months.
He joined Street Sport – a Forth Valley initiative aimed at reducing youth crime and anti-social behaviour through sport which has helped more than 300 vulnerable young men – and then spin-off project Street Sense.
The project doesn’t preach to youngsters but presents the raw facts allowing pupils to make up their own minds while steering them in the right direction.
Mark added, “We call it the snakebite. If you are bitten by a cobra, you need the anti-venom. We see ourselves as the anti-venom for drink, drugs and carrying knives and hope to get the kids on the right path.”
Common misperceptions are challenged such as the thought that knives should be carried for protection when in fact those who carry them are more likely to have the knives used against them.
Street Sense has been coming to Clackmannanshire secondary schools since April this year and has proved very successful.
In some cases boys have ditched their knives after attending the eight-week intensive series of workshops.
The project has generated so much interest that filming is now taking place for a DVD of personal stories which will be available to schools and youth groups on request.
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