Home Office faces backlash after anti-knife chicken shop campaign
By Staff on Thursday, August 15, 2019
The Home Office has today launched a new #knifefree campaign replacing the traditional chicken shop box artwork from chains including Chicken Cottage, Dixy Chicken and Morley’s with anti-knife messaging.
The new 321,000 boxes will feature real life stories of young people, who chose positive activities over carrying a weapon, inside chicken shop boxes.
Policing Minister Kit Malthouse claims the campaign “will bring home to thousands of young people the tragic consequences of carrying a knife and challenge the idea that it makes you safer”.
However the campaign has also received backlash from politicians and campaigners who say that the plan is both “crude and “offensive”.
You should also put anti cocaine messages in Pret A Manger packaging then https://t.co/bRcdn8k0DR
— R Angelica (@riricouk) August 14, 2019
Courtney Barrett, founder of Binning Knives Saves Lives said that the campaign was a step in the right direction however stressed the campaign’s link to chicken shops in particular had dangerous racial connotations. He said “The public need to be made aware not all knife crime is carried out by young people, black people and gangs.”
Twitter lit up following a tweet from the Home Office’s official account promoting the campaign with users voicing their criticism of the initiative, both for its underlying racist overtures and overall cost.
Instead of investing in a public health approach to violent crime, the Home Office have opted for yet another crude, offensive and probably expensive campaign. They would do better to invest in our communities not demonise them. https://t.co/dGZBo3IypV
— Diane Abbott (@HackneyAbbott) August 14, 2019
Kinda sounds like you’re saying you think there’s a demographic overlap between knife crime and fried chicken
— Ken Wynn (@highfielder80) August 14, 2019
That will solve knife crime, for sure.. not investment in the community or in the youth services…nope.. the story on the Chicken cottage box..
— Audrey (@AudreyAurus1) August 14, 2019
Wow. I would say this is the most racist thing the home office has done but then again there was this little thing called Windrush.
— ?Daisy Walker? (@daisyblue_1) August 15, 2019
Did anyone else read this and thought, did chicken boxes ever come with knives?
— Joe (@JoeWasHere2017) August 14, 2019
