Summary of key learnings
Session focus
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Explored preventative approaches to knife awareness, with an emphasis on early intervention, lived experience, and multi-agency collaboration.
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Brought together perspectives from community delivery and local authority coordination.
Speakers
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Kevin Neary (Aid & Abet) shared his personal journey from childhood adversity and involvement in crime to leading prevention work with young people.
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Sandy Robertson (Perth & Kinross Council) outlined how knife awareness and early intervention are embedded within local school and community programmes.
Key themes and learning
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The value of lived experience
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Kevin demonstrated how honest, non-judgemental storytelling can build trust and credibility with young people.
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Personal experiences help make the risks and consequences of knife crime real, relatable, and meaningful.
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Early intervention and education
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Awareness work delivered in schools aims to reach young people before harm escalates.
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Sessions focus not only on knives, but on wider influences such as mental health, substance use, and decision-making.
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Consequences of Choice programme
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Perth & Kinross schools are offered a flexible package of workshops on topics including mental health, drugs and alcohol, and positive masculinity.
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These workshops are complemented by talks from mentors with lived experience, reinforcing messages around responsibility and long-term impact.
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Knife Angel in Perth
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The 27ft Knife Angel sculpture was brought to Perth as a focal point for education, remembrance, and community conversation.
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It created space for reflection and engagement, particularly with young people and schools, on the human cost of violence.
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Partnership and collaboration
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The session highlighted the importance of councils, schools, police, charities, and community organisations working together.
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Collaboration helps ensure consistent messaging and clear pathways to support for young people.
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Overall reflection
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The session reinforced that tackling knife harm requires prevention, compassion, and long-term partnership working rather than enforcement alone.
About the speakers
Sandy Robertson — Sandy Robertson has worked in community safety since 2004, beginning his career as a Police Community Support Officer with Hertfordshire Police. He joined Perth and Kinross Council in 2006 and has since held a variety of roles focused on tackling antisocial behaviour and supporting safer communities, including Antisocial Noise Officer, Antisocial Behaviour Officer, and Sex Offender Liaison Officer. From 2017 to 2020, he supervised a team of antisocial behaviour coordinators before becoming Community Safety Officer, overseeing ASB coordinators and community wardens. In 2025, Sandy was appointed Community Support and Enforcement Coordinator, where he leads on antisocial behaviour strategy and enforcement.
Kevin Neary — Kevin Neary is a dedicated leader and advocate for criminal justice reform, rehabilitation, and early intervention. As the co-founder and coordinator of Aid & Abet, Kevin brings over 30 years of lived experience within the criminal justice system, coupled with 11 years of recovery. His personal journey fuels his passion for helping individuals reintegrate into society and preventing young people from entering cycles of addiction and incarceration.
Through Aid & Abet, Kevin supports individuals transitioning from prison, focusing on the critical first 72 hours post-release—an essential period for fostering stability and positive reintegration. His unwavering commitment to prevention stems from the belief that addressing challenges at an early stage is far more impactful than intervening later in life.
Kevin is deeply invested in tackling childhood trauma, recognizing its profound effects on mental health, addiction, and involvement in the criminal justice system. His extensive knowledge in health and social care, combined with years of hands-on experience, enables him to develop and implement effective preventive strategies through education, mentorship, and community engagement.
Beyond his work with Aid & Abet, Kevin plays a key role in the SOL Project in West Lothian, where he supports mentors in early intervention efforts. His contributions extend beyond local initiatives—he has shared his expertise and personal story across the country, speaking at schools, universities, conferences, and even at the Scottish Parliament. His insights have been featured in multiple publications, including The Good Prison Officer, which he co-authored.
Kevin’s leadership, advocacy, and firsthand experience make him a pivotal voice in shaping policies that address criminal justice reform, youth intervention, and mental health. His mission is clear: to create a future where prevention, education, and compassionate support lead individuals toward hope, resilience, and lasting change
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