St Helens residents share concerns after 3 stabbings in 3 months

On Tuesday, September 12, the Star reported how a man was stabbed on Cooper Street at around 4pm, and had to be rushed to hospital with "severe injuries".

This comes just more than two weeks after another reported stabbing on Morley Street, on Saturday, August 26, in which a man was taken to hospital for a stomach wound.

And in early July, police were alerted to reports of a double stabbing on Chapel Street, in which a 40-year-old and 66-year-old were taken to hospital with stab wounds.

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A police cordon on Cooper Street (Image: St Helens Star)
While investigations have been launched into all of these incidents, residents have expressed safety concerns as the reported stabbings have taken place such a short distance away from each other.

Joanne Swift, a local resident, said: "It's an ongoing problem unfortunately at the moment, and there are a lot of problems with drugs and drinking in the area.

"This is not anything to do with the Turks Head and Cowley Vaults pubs, but with people congregating around the Chapel Street areas or around Lowe House Church on North Road.

"I'm not saying all people from the area are doing this but certain people are, and there have been altercations when they pick on those weaker than themselves.

"I've raised my concerns to carers, key workers, the police, and housing teams, but nothing has ever been done.

"I can take care of myself but I'm becoming wary about going out to the local shop. This will be a difficult challenge to change."

Police presence on Chapel Street after a reported stabbing (Image: St Helens Star)
Another resident who has grown concerned about the rise of serious incidents in the area, and the police response to this, is Paul Beesley, who has worked as a taxi driver in St Helens for decades.

Paul said: "You'd think after one stabbing that something would be done, or you would see a lot more police presence.

"It's not my job to go around arresting bad guys, but I drive around that area and everybody knows what is going on, but you don't see any police presence.

"Drug dealing and things I used to see in the early hours, with people being discreet on a night out, are now happening in broad daylight so I don't know what the police are doing.

"I've had a lot of dealings with the police as a taxi driver, and they've always been good with me, but their reputation is rapidly going downhill with things like this."

A police cordon on Morley Street in August (Image: Contributed)
Although the three serious incidents took place within a short distance of one another, local police officers emphasise that they were all "isolated incidents" with "no wider threat to the public".

The Force has confirmed that a man has been charged in relation to the Cooper Street incident, three arrests have been made following the Chapel Street incident, and an investigation is ongoing in relation to the Morley Street report.

A man has been charged following the Cooper Street incident (Image: St Helens Star)
Local policing Inspector Stacey Pope, said: “We know residents from St Helens will be concerned by recent incidents and the use of knives in our community. We remain committed to targeting those who choose to carry weapons on our streets and bring them to justice.

“Operation Target is our major policing operation to tackle serious violence and knife crime all year round. Alongside open land searches, search warrants and stop searches, we work closely with our partners to prevent serious violence in our communities.

“In the last financial year knife crime in St Helens has reduced by 11.27%, knife enabled serious violence has reduced by 22% and serious violence has reduced by just over 5% in the last 12 months. 

“While we have seen a decrease, we are not complacent and know that one incident is one too many. Increased police patrols are in various areas of St Helens. We hope this along with the recent arrests made reassures the public on the actions taken against those who store, carry and use weapons on our streets. 

“Despite our work in St Helens we recognise that a whole-system approach is needed to address the complex issues around serious violence and knife crime.

"In the last year, Operation Target has invested more than £300,000 on improving street lighting, installing additional CCTV, providing knife wands to the night-time economy, and delivering youth prevention programmes across hotspot locations in Merseyside.

"We know that prevention is key so that’s why we also work closely with local retailers, Trading Standards and the Violence Reduction Partnership to ensure knives do not fall into the hands of young people. 

“We continue to rely on communities for information and would encourage anyone with any information or concerns to report it to us."

To contact Merseyside Police with any information you can call 101, direct message @MerPolCC on Twitter or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”