UK Report: “Our Generation’s Epidemic: Knife Crime”

3rd March 2020

The findings of an inquiry into knife crime by the Youth Select Committee has been published. The inquiry was set up to examine and address the growing concern of knife crime among young people in Britain.

In a survey conducted by the Committee, the main reason why young people carried knives was reported as for (a.) protection and (b.) because of fear in their communities.

A key finding from the inquiry is that there are a multitude of factors in society driving knife crime, and that one single approach will not solve the issue. The Committee found evidence that suggests inequalities within communities and differences in opportunities increases a young person’s vulnerability to gangs and violent crime. The rise of knife crime among young people is linked to cuts to services in the community such as youth community groups and access to health and education services.  

The Committee found that the Government currently has limited interventions to address the issue of knife crime that only work to ‘remedy the symptoms’ and do not get to the root causes of addressing the issue.

The Committee outlines that due to a number of factors at play, one public service will not be able to tackle knife crime alone and acknowledges the commitment by the Government to a ‘Public Health Approach’ to treating knife crime.

This report also highlights the importance of education, recommending that young people should be taught the risks and consequences of involvement in knife crimes. The Committee outlines that school exclusions must be a measure of last resort, noting that certain ethnic minority groups were more likely to be excluded from schools.

Two intervention programmes are highlighted:

1. DIVERT: DIVERT is an intervention set up to divert young adults aged 18-25 into employment, education and training opportunities. The re-offending rate of those who have completed this programme is low at 8%.
2. Redthread Youth Charity: Redthread is a youth charity that delivers interventions through its Youth Violence Intervention Programme. Youth workers meet with patients of knife crime-related incidents to provide these young people with supports. Youth workers draw up a plan for a young person to break away from violence.

The report concludes that this knife crime cannot be viewed as a social problem in isolation.  

Key Conclusions and Recommendations by the Committee:  

• To prevent knife crime, damaging inequalities within communities must be addressed. A key recommendation is to establish a plan with clear targets and deadlines aimed at tackling injustices, which make a young person more vulnerable to knife crimes such as poverty, inequality of opportunity and any other socio economic challenges.
• The need for long term funding so that community/youth organisations can run their programmes to support and impact on the lives of young people. Funding guarantees should be made for a period of over five years to enable youth services to build their practices and establish the trust of young people in their local area. This would allow young people to have purposeful activity outside of education. The Committee notes that early interventions are the most cost-effective way in tackling violence.      
• Adopting a public health approach by the Government is welcome, however this commitment means that services need to be adequately funded and supported to provide the ‘wrap around’ support taken with this approach.
• The protective effect of education in protecting young people who are at risk of becoming victims and/or perpetrators of knife crime involves providing positive role models and supports.
• School exclusions should be used as a last resort. Schools should be required to demonstrate the steps they took before escalating the intervention to an exclusion.
• The Government should seek to encourage relatable role models and consult with young people who carry knives for protection and as a result of fear in their communities.
• Harsher punishments or longer custodial sentences will not address the issue of knife crime. The Government could commission an investigation into what would make young people feel safer in their communities.
• Short custodial sentences should be a measure of last resort, where restorative justice interventions can be used as an effective alternative.
• Young people at risk of getting involved in knife crime need to receive targeted interventions as a matter of urgency.
• The need to introduce interventions focused on identifying and meeting a young person in a ‘teachable moment’ as a national tactic to provide targeted interventions for example, when a young person  has been arrested for committing a knife crime or when they come into an emergency room after they have been injured.
• Use a review system, to help young people with a criminal record access employment, education and training opportunities.    

Ends

British Youth Council, Youth Select Committee (2019) Our Generation’s Epidemic: Knife Crime