Parents of murdered boy praise street performers

THE father of a boy who was murdered in Emmer Green has praised street performances about organised criminal gangs.

Stuart Stephens and his wife Amanda were among 300 people to attend two acts by Justice in Motion, a professional physical theatre company, in Reading on Saturday.

He described the scenes, which covered knife crime, county lines and what happens to young people being exploited, as “powerful”.

Their 13-year-old son Olly was stabbed to death at Bugs Bottom in January 2021 by two boys, aged 13 and 14.

The couple claimed social media “played a massive part” in their son’s death and have called for tighter regulation.

Justice in Motion combined parkour, acting and bike stunts with live rap and music and adapted various case studies from families who have experienced crime through their children.

Mr Stephens said: “The performers told a story over an hour about how a child goes from being an innocent kid in the playground to ending up being recruited into an organised criminal gang. It was really powerful.

“It was very impactful for the younger kids to see it. It also opened their eyes and those of parents to how easy it is for children to be groomed.

“It’s a gateway for people to open up and talk about what is actually happening. The more we talk about this issue, the more people will be aware of it and the less power the organised criminal gangs have.

“It makes me sick every time I see a performance like this because obviously the boys that murdered Olly were trying to be wannabe gangsters. They groomed him through social media and lured him out of the house using a female.

“They were trying to live the life of gangsters and it’s a false life. It was quite harrowing to watch but the message is clear. We want as many people as possible to understand where we failed. Because we were very naïve, it cost us our son and this could happen to you.

“There was a lot of very positive feedback, people were talking a lot with their kids because once they know the warning signs, they can spot them. The message we’re trying to put out there is that they’ll come on like your friend, but they’re effectively abusing you.”

Mr Stephens hopes the 2023 Online Safety Act, which aims to protect people online, particularly children, and put more responsibility into the hands of tech firms to manage their platforms’ content can continue to thoroughly protect children.

He said: “We’re hoping Ofcom will live up to its promise and be quite ruthless in their approach with the bigger social media companies. It’s all a work in progress but it’s about the conversations and getting people talking.”

Mr Stephens said that the changes to the Criminal Justice Act, to make it illegal to possess zombie-style knives and machetes, are a step in the right direction but not enough.

He said: “Olly was killed with a vegetable knife from a kitchen drawer. Obviously, we’re paying a lot of attention to the legislation for banning zombie knives but there should also be a licence system, similar to a firearms licence.

“Police should pay you a visit, you fill out all your paperwork and you’re allowed to use them. If you put a blanket ban on everything, you’re penalising a lot of people that could do a lot of good and help. It’s double-edged.

“Obviously, we want to take zombie knives out of children’s hands but you also want retailers to be punished for selling them. It’s okay to ban them but you can order one on Amazon for £20 and have it delivered to your door. Unless they go after the retailers, then what’s the point?”

Matt Rodda MP for Reading Central said: "The event was very powerful and I hope it plays an important part in raising awareness of the risks of knife crime.

“It was a privilege to be able to watch the event with Stuart and Amanda, the parents of Olly Stephens and I would like to thank the case, Reading Borough Council, John Madejski Academy and other schools and other groups for all their work on this initiative.”