Dear Councillors,

I am writing to you regarding the deeply shocking events of Thursday 3rd April, where a school-aged boy was stabbed to death in Huddersfield town centre. This brutal attack took place in the middle of the day, on a busy street full of people.

The local press has reported that Huddersfield town centre is now "stained with the blood" of this horrific attack. The 16-year-old victim died from a single wound to his neck, which some have reported as an "attempted beheading".

It is hard to conceive of a more devastating indictment of what should be a safe, peaceful small town. Huddersfield is not a war zone. It is not even a big city, environments which, regrettably, are renowned for pockets of violence, incidents which usually happen late at night.

Yet this event did not occur late at night, but at 2:45pm in the afternoon, when the town centre would have been full of young mothers and small children.

Whilst all violent crime, wherever it occurs and at whatever time, is unacceptable, there is something particularly shocking about the circumstances surrounding this incident.

It is of note that this incident has occurred when young male knife crime is an enormous national talking point, courtesy of the fictional Netflix drama, Adolescence.

Three days before the fatal stabbing in Huddersfield occurred, Netflix announced it would be making the TV drama, which is the most watched in UK Netflix history, free to all secondary schools to show to their pupils, a move supported by the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer.

However, experts in child psychology and safeguarding have issued grave warnings about the potentially "catastrophic" effects screening this jarring and explicit adult television drama could have on impressionable and vulnerable children.

Psychologist Dr Jessica Taylor and director of VictimFocus, Jamie Shrive, have cautioned the government in an open letter that there is no evidence that screening Adolescence in schools will prevent radicalisation and violent crime, but rather, that it is far more likely to create more of these things.

By drawing children's attention to certain themes that they may not previously have been aware of, and by running the risk of "glamourisng" knife crime by presenting it through a slick TV drama, showing Adolescence across the nation's schools, and to children as young as 11, is a reckless and dangerous move that can only have tragic consequences.

Dr Taylor and Ms Shrive have directly and explicitly warned that showing Adolescence to schoolchildren could have the effect of 'normalising radicalisation rather than preventing it'. 

Ms Shrive said:

'With Adolescence being shown with no support or guidance, it will cause more curiosity for some children already at risk of radicalism,'

'The likelihood of them ending up on dangerous sub-Reddits and in Twitter groups could increase and push that radicalisation further.'

It is also extremely pertinent to note that Adolescence, as a fictional TV series rather than a "documentary" (as the Prime Minister has erroneously described it) deviates very significantly from accurately portraying the factors driving teen knife crime.

These offences are not typically driven by the internet influencer, Andrew Tate, or by "incel content", as Adolescence depicts, but rather, by such factors as involvement with gangs and drugs, a childhood involving abuse, poverty and parental criminality, and being previously known to the police and/or social services.

The fictional "offender" in Adolescence, meanwhile, meets none of these criteria. He is from a stable working home where his married parents are neither abusive, addicted, nor criminals. He has no involvement with drugs or gangs, and no prior involvement with the police.

This is not the profile of the kind of boy who is significantly at risk of becoming a knife murderer, so Adolescence is not driving a useful national conversation about the true causes of knife crime. The inaccurate and unrepresentative themes depicted in Adolescence make it even more unacceptable that this fictional drama is being shown to impressionable children under the guise of 'education'.

It may be a coincidence that the horrific knife attack in Huddersfield took place just as this very high-profile TV knife drama so dominates the press and national conversation, or it may not.

It is also of note that, just one day after this attack, there was yet more knife violence amongst young men in Huddersfield, which resulted in a confrontation with armed police and at least one of the young men being hospitalised.

Knife crime is clearly a very significant, and growing, problem in our town, and, as such, I would like to receive your urgent assurance that you will vehemently oppose the screening of Adolescence across Huddersfield's schools, which can only have the effect of exacerbating this phenomenon.

The consequences of an upsurge in knife violence inspired by Adolescence would not only affect the victims and their families, but all of us, should the government respond to this increase by removing some of our civil liberties and personal freedoms, under the guise of "safety", just as they did in the 'Covid' chapter.

To be clear, if Adolescence is shown in schools, and knife crime increases as a result, we may all be penalised.

We can dramatically reduce the prospect of this occurring now, by refusing to show Adolescence in our schools.

As a tax-payer who has contributed many thousands of pounds to Kirklees Council through (the recently increased) council tax, (exorbitant) parking charges, and other fees, I expect a comprehensive response confirming you will strongly oppose the notion of local schools showing this inflammatory television show to their pupils.

If you will not stand and oppose this, then - in light of what I have communicated to you in this letter - I request a full and comprehensive explanation detailing why not.

Please note that I am an independent journalist who keeps my local, national, and international audience informed about events through my online platforms, and that this letter is therefore an open letter which has been shared with my readership.

Yours sincerely,

Miri Finch

(Full Huddersfield postal address supplied)

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