Three women whose family members were stabbed to death react to zombie knife ban
'It's not going to change anything', Tracey Fisher speaking on the zombie knife ban
A mum whose son was stabbed to death on a dance floor on boxing day has told ITV News Central she fears the zombie knife ban is an "absolute waste of time".
Tracey Fisher's son Cody, 23, was stabbed on Boxing Day 2022 at Crane Nightclub in Digbeth.
She said the ban was a step in the right direction but only "a little step" and "just not enough".
She was interviewed alongside Alison Cope whose son Joshua, 18, was stabbed to death in 2013 and Nikita Kanda whose brother Ronan, 16, was stabbed in a case of mistaken identity, in June 2022.
All three women campaign against knife crime.
Tracey Fisher questions the slow progress of change, saying: "What happened in the 11 years that Alison's been campaigning.
"How many other women, like Alison, have campaigned for all that time'.
Nikita Kanda speaking to our reporter Ravneet Nandra about the culture of zombie knives
She says if zombie knives were harder to get her brother might be alive: "Maybe [Ronan's killer] wouldn't have been obsessed with [zombie knives] if it wasn't so available".
The recent ban does not include the knife that Ronan Kanda was killed with.
At Labour party conference the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, promised to bring in 'Ronan's law'.
This would see 'ninja swords', like the one used in his murder, also banned.
Yvette Cooper said: "This Labour Government will bring in new laws to crackdown on dangerous online sales and the gangs who draw children in, alongside new youth hubs to steer young people away from violence – a teenage Sure Start to build hope in the future.
She said this ban is part of the government's plan “to halve knife crime in a decade."
What is the zombie-style knife ban?
As of September 24, it is illegal to own zombie-style knives and machetes.
The blades have been added to the list of dangerous prohibited items, including butterfly knives, Samurai swords and push daggers.
The ban is part of a Government plan to halve knife crime within the next decade.
Policing Minister, Diana Johnson said: "Too many people have access to weapons that can lead to devastating, life-changing consequences.
"There is no legitimate need for a weapon of this kind to be in our homes or on our streets."
Alison Cope points out the most common knife used in an attack is a kitchen knife
She agrees that what a ban on "certain kinds of weapons" does is set a standard and shows that "is not acceptable".
As Alison Cope says, in the West Midlands, kitchen knives are the most common knife used in attacks, in 17% of all stabbings a kitchen knife was used.
How big is the problem?
In the West Midlands alone, between 1 November 2020 and 31 October 2023, there were over 11,200 knife crime offences.
According to a freedom of information request out of all knife attacks from 2019 to 2023 only 10% involved a zombie knife or machete.
Who are Joshua Ribera, Ronan Kanda and Cody Fisher?
Joshua Ribera was 18 and a successful grime artist. He toured Europe and his song 'Celebrate' has over 3 million views on youtube.
In 2013 he released his first album, 2 Real.
He was killed on a night out after an argument with another 18-year-old about a girl they both dated.
Ronan Kanda was 16. He supported Liverpool football club.
He wanted to be a lawyer when he grew up. His sister said 'nobody had a bad word to say about Ronan, including his murderers'.
He was stabbed in a case of mistaken identity. His killers thought he was another boy who they say owed them money.
Cody Fisher was 23. He was from Redditch. He taught PE and was a semi professional footballer. He played for Stratford Town and Bromsgrove.
He was killed in a revenge attack 48 hours after bumping into a man in a nightclub.
Tracey Fisher on living with grief and anger
She talks about the endlessness of grief after murder:
"It just never stops, everyday every single day. From the minute you open your eyes to the minute you go to sleep at night."
But she also expresses her anger at the people who killed her son:
"How dare sad, sick individuals take their lives."
"How dare they take my baby's life. How dare they..."
"They get a prison sentence which is not a life sentence... They still get to breath and eat and have visits from their parents and family. We don't get to do that."
Who killed them?
Joshua was stabbed by Armani Mitchell, 18, outside a nightclub in Digbeth in 2013.
He was found guilty of murder and sentenced to a minimum of 18 years in prison.
Ronan was killed by Prabjeet Veadhesa and Sukhman Shergill when they were both 16.
They picked up the Ninja sword set and a large machete they used in the attack from a local post-office earlier that day.
Both boys were found guilty of murder. Veadhesa was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years in prison Shergill was sentenced to 16 years.
Cody was murdered on Christmas Eve by Remy Gordon, 23, and Kami Carpenter, 22.
Gordon planned the attack after Cody Fisher bumped into him at a club 48 hours before. Both men were found guilty.
Gordon was sentenced to a minimum of 26 years in prison and Carpenter 25. Another man, Reegan Anderson, 19, was found not guilty of murder but sentenced to 18 months for affray.
Prosecutor Michael Duck KC told the court: "The absolute tragedy of this case is just how trivial the motive was."
How can it get better?
ITV News Central asked Simon Foster, the Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands, about the scale of knife crime in the West Midlands, including many high-profile cases such as the two 12-year-old boys found guilty of murdering a 19-year-old.
He said: "There have been some shocking and tragic circumstances that have taken place in the West Midlands.
"That is why we have to be committed to preventing tackling and reducing knife crime."
"We need to take every opportunity we can to remove these dangerous weapons from the streets of the west midlands."
He also said weapon surrender schemes won't end knife crime and needed to work alongside "robust policing" and "invest in prevention."
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