Quickly exit this site by pressing the Escape key Leave this site
We use some essential cookies to make our website work. We’d like to set additional cookies so we can remember your preferences and understand how you use our site.
You can manage your preferences and cookie settings at any time by clicking on “Customise Cookies” below. For more information on how we use cookies, please see our Cookies notice.
Your cookie preferences have been saved. You can update your cookie settings at any time on the cookies page.
Your cookie preferences have been saved. You can update your cookie settings at any time on the cookies page.
Sorry, there was a technical problem. Please try again.
This site is a beta, which means it's a work in progress and we'll be adding more to it over the next few weeks. Your feedback helps us make things better, so please let us know what you think.
Sergeant Mohammed Waqas is part of Operation Venture - Greater Manchester Police's new initiative that is working with the local community to reduce violence and knife crime.
"I have been in the police force for about 10 years in total in a variety of different roles .
"To any young person who might be carrying a knife I would say very simply: don’t do it, it’s not worth it.
"If you’re caught carrying a knife, your life could change forever. You will be arrested if caught and you’ll then have a criminal record which could stop you getting the job you want or travelling somewhere.
"If you carry a knife, you are also more likely to use it or have it be used on you. You might be fatally stabbed, or you could end up spending the rest of your life in prison, having killed someone.
"Most of the stab wounds that I’ve seen have been one stab wound. They haven’t been stabbed repeatedly so it’s more likely that the person stabbed them impulsively. Sometimes the offender aims for a certain place on the body where they think they won’t do much damage.
"But there’s no safe place to stab someone.
"You can easily hit an artery and then the person you’ve stabbed bleeds out. You might not have intended to kill someone but they’ve died as a result.
"Our communities have been through enough and we need to start taking action because that’s what they want. We need to be robust and we need to do more – and that is exactly what this team is setting out to do working alongside the communities."