'I should have given my son a knife', says victim's father as zombie knife ban comes into effect

"It's unsafe to be out there because everyone has a knife," Julius Cools, father of Jermaine Cools who was fatally stabbed in London in 2021, told ITV News

ITV News has spoken to Julius Cools, father of zombie knife-victim Jermaine Cools, who said that not giving his son a knife was "the biggest mistake I've ever made."

Julius explains that his son told him "it's unsafe to be out there because everybody has a knife." But his father said to him "it doesn't matter that people carry a knife. You don't carry a knife."

"And I think that was the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life not to give my son a knife, because he'd still be out there," he said.

Jermaine was injured on London Road, near West Croydon station in November 2021, after a fight involving a number of people. He went to hospital but died a short time later.

A teenager admitted to fatally stabbing the 14-year-old boy in 2023. He was arrested and charged with Jermaine’s murder and possession of an offensive weapon.

"It's scary out there. All kids carry knives right now and they don't care who they hurt," Julius added.

This comes as the zombie knife ban came into effect in England and Wales on Tuesday.

New knife-detection technology could be used at concerts and sporting events, according to police, as knife crime offences nearly double in five years.

There were more than 14,000 crimes involving machetes, swords or zombie knives in England and Wales in 2023, according to police data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

But advocates fear the ban will not reduce crime rates.

“We’ve got more young people than ever that are carrying these knives,” Pastor Lorraine Jones Burrell told ITV News in a recent interview.

Make it Stop Campaigner Pastor Lorraine Jones Burrell on ways to reduce knife crime.

Burrell's 20-year-old son Dwayne was stabbed to death just metres from his home in Brixton, London in 2014.

“I’m telling you the ban is not going to immediately stop these knives,” the Make it Stop campaigner said.

“The problem we have is so huge. These kids are carrying these knives out of fear and we need to deal with the root cause and combat that to really have an impact on our streets.”

One method police hope will also have an impact on reducing knife crime on the streets is new detection technology.

Currently in the early stages of development, it would allow police to detect those carrying knives from a further distance than current metal detection arches by scanning people in large crowds as they pass by two points.

Authorities hope to have the system in use within the next few years.

The National Police Chief’s Council chairman Gavin Stephens said enforcement alone would not reduce knife crime.

“We know that there’s a lot for us to do across the full range of our policing activities to deter young people from violence,” he said.

In the year to March 2023, 82 per cent of teenage murder victims were killed with a knife, nine percent higher than the year before.

Authorities remain concerned about how easy it is for young people to buy knives online and have them delivered to their house – sometimes for as little as £20.

There are also plans to also outlaw 'ninja swords' in the UK in the future.

Burell said bans – along with intervention – would be crucial to combatting this crime.

“There’s still a lot of work and a lot of resources needed to provide spaces for young people to engage,” she said.

“We have to include other streams of support.”

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