A Bristol rapper has called for anyone who is caught carrying a knife to be given a minimum five-year prison sentence. Wayne Webster, 36, has called for changes to the law after multiple stabbings in Bristol this year, which he says are “getting out of hand”.
Wayne believes that current punishments for those carrying knives are too low as he thinks that youngsters are “getting away with it”. He thinks that current punishments make it seem “like everyone is condoning knife crime”.
Currently adults who are charged with possession of an offensive weapon or possession of an article with a blade or point in a public place have a maximum custodial sentence of four years. Children who are found with a blade, currently face up to four months’ Detention and Training Order if it's a second offence.
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Young offenders are usually handed a knife crime prevention order, meaning a defendant would attend an educational course or anger management classes. But Wayne believes that the punishment should be a five-year prison sentence as a minimum for anyone caught carrying a knife.
Knife crime has had a devastating impact on Bristol in 2024, with multiple people having already lost their lives. Bristol Live has joined forces with others to launch the Together for Change campaign. The campaign sees community leaders, groups, schools and sports facilities join Bristol’s media to try and bring an end to the scourge of knife crime in our city.
Together For Change Aims
Set up a task force - We will develop a community-driven task force to meet and discuss the issue, how best to tackle it and how we can make a real difference with those in power.
Getting knives off the street - We will work with the campaigners to raise awareness of initiatives designed to get knives off the streets.
Social media - We will look at the Online Safety Bill and see if it goes far enough where it comes to harmful knife-related content on social media and how easy it is for children to see.
Raise awareness - We will work together to raise the awareness of how knife crime is linked to poverty, education, employment, social exclusion and the collapse in youth services
Lobby the government -We will cover the issue in the context of the General Election, using our findings from the taskforce and our reporting to lobby for change
Hold power to account - We will scrutinise and hold Avon and Somerset Police and Bristol City Council to account on their plans and models to make Bristol safer
Wayne's son was friends with Mason Rist , 15, who was stabbed near his home in Knowle West with his best friend, Max Dixon, back in January. Wayne said it was at this point where he sthought “enough was enough”.
Speaking to Bristol Live he said: “It is all a bit much with these stabbings going on, this is getting out of hand. Everyone needs to calm down. I propose a five year ban for those caught with a knife as it is our way of saying no more. Young people can not think that they can get away with a slap on the wrist.”
The rapper has a huge social media following and regularly uses his platform to talk about mental health and knife crime. He released a song, The Petition, to try and spread his message of stopping knife crime.
He said he thinks those people with a platform could be doing more and that musicians in particular have a crucial role to play in the prevention of knife crime. Wayne added: “It is incredibly important for those with a platform to speak out and encourage change.
“It feels like many people are turning their heads at the problem, they should be encouraging people to be doing better. Every single person can make a difference.
“People are looking at knife crime and feeling that they are powerless. It’s like taking on a 10,000 piece puzzle, you could get lost in trying to look at the big picture, but by doing a 500 piece puzzle, it feels manageable.
“One person can have an impact on another, then one person turns into two into four and so on. Change is coming. I think music is a giant cog in the operation to reduce and get rid of knife crime."
Wayne started his own petition to introduce tougher sentencing for carrying a knife, and he said he hopes the petition can lead to a similar situation to what happened in Scotland back in 2017, when a five year sentence was implemented into law.
The Scottish Government introduced the new sentence which took affect in 2017, five years after being announced. A Scottish Government spokeswoman said at the time that all parties at Holyrood had backed the increase in sentences for knife crime when it was introduced, saying this ensured courts have the powers needed “in the most serious knife possession cases”.
She added: “Sentencing in each case, however, remains a matter for the independent court, where they have all the facts and circumstances before them. The twin-track approach of pioneering violence-prevention programmes, coupled with enhanced penalties and tough enforcement has helped deliver huge falls in violent crime over the last decade."
Wayne wants to see knife crime eradicated across Bristol and the UK. He added: “I have a platform and I will keep running with it until something is done about knife crime.”
