Stephanie Balloo
@JournoBalloo
Real Life Editor at @birmingham_live & Birmingham Mail. Specific interest in DV, RTCs, crime & injustice. DMs open/[email protected]. Views my own.
*We need to talk about knife crime* Today, we're launching Deep Cuts, our three-month investigation exploring the root of serious youth violence. Sharing exclusive data and behind the scenes visits & interviews, we're now calling for urgent change... deepcuts.birminghamlive.co.uk
More on knife crime: Here in Walsall, youth workers find kids aged 11 vaping, smoking cannabis and wearing balaclavas as they loiter on the streets. Heartbreakingly, many live in poverty in often say they've had nothing but cereal to eat all day birminghammail.co.uk/black-country/…
Alum Rock killer Abdul Ghani, who murdered Dean Elwell in a fatal knife attack, was released from prison to a hospice after he was given weeks to live birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-…
Edwin Darby was jailed for 54 months for sexually abusing a child - but will be walking the streets in just a few weeks birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-…
"One of the most alarming aspects is how quickly a single decision to carry or use a knife can result in devastating, life-altering consequences for victims and offenders alike"- top crown prosecutor birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-…
Broken systems are failing city kids, says mum of knifepoint robbery victim birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-…
As knife crime continues to devastate families across the West Midlands, teen killers handed 'ill-fitting' sentences due to their age are free to walk the streets birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-…
"No child at this age needs these weapons in their hands" birminghammail.co.uk/black-country/…
Here, we speak to an ex-gang member who carried a gun at the young age of just 14. He's since turned his life around thanks to the opportunities given by a youth club in Walsall - something he says is absolutely vital for kids across the West Midlands birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-…
'When my son was murdered, knife crime was still a shock - now it's just part of the news' - Mum of knife victim reflects on what's changed and what's gone wrong here in the West Midlands since her son was murdered in a city nightclub birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-…
Children across the West Midlands are carrying knives because they're 'bored', struggle to understand the consequences and are heavily influenced by gang culture, one youth worker told us as part of our Deep Cuts investigation birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-…
Three men police are trying to trace in connection with a Birmingham city centre stabbing birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-…
A decade on from the mass shooting in Sousse, Tunisia, mum Suzanne Richards reflects on the strength gained over the years & what kept her going in her darkest moments - even though the murders 'still feel like yesterday' birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-…
As housing demand reaches an all-time high in Birmingham, families are now being told to move three hours away to the beach instead. We spoke to some of those offered moves to Hartlepool this month birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-…
