A man has been handed a sentence of 20 years over a serious stabbing in Luton.
Stephen Robson was found guilty of stabbing the victim as he sat in his car in a car park in the town in February 2019.
The sentence comes in the same week that a teenage boy lost his life in another stabbing in Luton, with our officers urging people to help them rid knife crime from the town’s streets.
The incident over which Robson was jailed took place in Castle Street at around 3.50pm on 23 February.
The victim was sat in his car when Robson, 31, of no fixed abode, approached his car from the driver’s side and threatened him with a knife.
He demanded that the victim handed over his keys and got out of the car. When making his threats, he stabbed the victim through a half-opened window.
The victim was stabbed multiple times in the chest and his right arm.
He managed to drive off and call for help from a nearby street. His injuries were initially considered life threatening.
Robson was sentenced to 17 years imprisonment for causing grievous bodily harm with intent, with an additional three years to be served on an extended license. https://www.youtube.com/embed/2EqqGQSD9FU
This is the second significant sentence to be handed out over a serious stabbing in Luton over the past two weeks.
Last week two men involved in a gangland stabbing in March were jailed for eight years and three months and six years respectively.
In May, Bedfordshire Police also ran a week of action to tackle knife crime, which took more than 1,300 weapons off the streets.
Police also engaged with six retailers over knife sales as well as delivering talks in eight schools encouraging young people to go knife free.
This is without mentioning the wider work of partners such as Luton Council and the Bedfordshire Violence and Exploitation Reduction Unit (VERU) to tackle the root causes of knife crime.
Luton Council run a dedicated operation in the town alongside police to engage with young people, while the VERU is currently working with 77 young people across the county who are directly at risk of violence and exploitation.
Recorded incidents of serious youth violence in Bedfordshire fell by around 15 per cent in the 12 months to April, compared to the 12 months until September 2019.
There were also no reports of firearms discharges or incidents of serious violence directly attributed to Bedfordshire’s organised crime groups or gangs between August and January.https://www.youtube.com/embed/3Gifw3E5ZpI
Detective Chief Inspector Louisa Glynn, from Bedfordshire Police, said: “This is a really strong sentence handed out by the courts and should serve as a warning in no uncertain terms that knife crime will not be tolerated.
“But we cannot escape the fact that the terrible events of this week show us that we must all do more to stop knife crime and get these terrible weapons off the streets.
“This includes the police and other professionals working to protect young people and keep people safe, with help from all our communities.
“I would implore everyone reading this to get in touch with us or other agencies like Crimestoppers or the VERU if you think someone you know is carrying a knife, or involved in something like gangs or drug dealing.
“We cannot solve this problem without the support of and buy in from our communities, and we really need your help to do our absolute best to keep young people safe and stop anymore of these tragedies.”
To report concerns about knife crime, please report via our website or call us on 101.
You can also call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. They will never ask for your name or try to trace the number that you’re calling from.
In an emergency always dial 999.
If you have a knife and want to get rid of it, talk to an adult who you trust and find out more about where you can get help.
For more information or support about knife crime, please visit the Bedfordshire Violence and Exploitation Reduction Unit’s website.
You can find out more about what we are doing to tackle serious youth violence at the Bedfordshire Against Violence and Exploitation website.
