As Bedordians from all walks of life continue to reel from the murder of Thomas Taylor in Bedford town centre last week, Bedfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable have sought to reassure the public that Bedford remains a “safe” town centre.
PCC John Tizard (Labour) and chief constable Trevor Rodenhurst were speaking at last night’s (Thursday) Bedford Borough Council’s Environment and Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee to talk about crime in the town.
“I think it would be remiss of me not to just reflect on the tragedy that occurred in the town centre last week and the appalling impact that’s had on the family and friends of the young man who was so tragically killed,” said PCC Tizard.
Thomas Taylor, a 17-year-old Bedford Academy student, died after being stabbed on Greenhill Street near to the bus station on January 8.
Five teenagers, one aged just 16, have now been charged in connection with the murder. A judge has made an order barring the identities of defendants under 18 from being published.
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“The public of Bedford need to be reassured that this is not a series of issues and that, as tragic as [this] was, Bedford remains a safe town centre,” added the PCC.
Police response
Bedfordshire’s chief constable, Trevor Rodenhurst, added to the PCC’s reassurance but also spoke about the work his officers had undertaken in the wake of the stabbing.
“Clearly my thoughts, and the thoughts of all of the Bedfordshire Police service, go out to [Thomas’s] family and friends,” he said.
“You would have seen in the media that we have since arrested and charged initially four individuals with murder who’ve been remanded either to prison or youth offending institutions.
“And subsequently a further arrest and charge of a fifth person with murder who appeared at court today. I hope that gives some small comfort in terms of the speed of the policing response to what was a terrible incident.
“Obviously, with the charging of that number of people with offences that serious, that ripple continues to affect more and more families and members of the community.
“There is a very hostile environment for that kind of offending, and we will continue to go after anyone involved in that type of criminality in this town and the rest of the county.”
Anyone with any information on this incident should visit Bedfordshire Police’s major incident public portal, call police on 101 quoting Operation Cimarron, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.
Knife crime stats
The reassurance comes after the Bedford Independent was shown statistics that highlighted Bedfordshire as one of the highest areas for knife-related crime in the country.
Office of National Statistics (ONS) data shows the number of crimes reported between July 2023 and June 2024 placed Bedfordshire amongst the top ten police force areas in England for the number of offences involving a knife per 10,000 people.
Further analysis of the data also revealed Bedfordshire has the highest rate of threats to kill offences involving a knife in England, with 1.72 offences per 10,000 people and the highest rate of knife-related attempted murders in England, at 0.18 offences per 10,000 people.
However, superintendent Alex House, who leads on violence prevention at Bedfordshire Police, said that incidents involving knives had recently “decreased by 36 per cent” from August to October 2024 when compared to the same period the previous year.
He attributed this to police officers in the area being involved in several initiatives aimed at reducing knife-related offences, “including proactive patrols and engagements” and knife bins across the county where weapons can be securely left without any questions.
“Over the past six months, more than 1,500 knives and other weapons have been safely recovered from knife bins across the county as part of our ongoing efforts to remove knives from the streets,” he said.
Additional reporting by
John Guinn, Local Democracy Reporter
