Final Word
Knife crime is dominating public debate on law and order and the teenage death toll in our inner cities is growing by the week. In July, knives claimed six lives in London in a single day. Latest Home Office figures show knife assaults are running at a rate of 356 per day. A vicious circle is emerging as most of those carrying knives claim it is for their own protection – from knife crime.
Meanwhile, probation staff report young offenders routinely missing appointments because they are afraid to cross a rival gang’s ‘territory’.
Police admit that high-profile knife amnesties barely scratch the surface when every kitchen drawer in the land contains a legally held weapon. The main political parties compete to offer tough solutions, but all are agreed that the underlying culture demands far more long-term solutions. Can the tide turn?
Angela Francis, Senior Project Worker, Rainer Brent Tackling Knife Crime Service:
“If we come down hard on knives, but don’t change the mind-set of those carrying them, they’ll simply pick up a different weapon.
“Jacqui Smith recently talked about a 20-year plan, and she’s right. This will take more than a generation. We must look at families, parenting skills, schools – particularly the lack of options for excluded youngsters. Affordable after-school activities must become the norm.
“One successful approach has been the Be Safe project’s awareness workshops in schools, with police and doctors confronting young people with the harsh realities of knife crime, including showing graphic images of wounds, and encouraging them to question whether they really want to carry knives. Instilling awareness in this way is vital. We must equip young people to make better choices.”
Harry Fletcher, Assistant General Secretary, National Association of Probation Officers:
“We need specific duties on local authorities to reduce and prevent knife crime, and a duty on government to fund their projects.
In the past, when local authorities held education budgets, there was some left over for youth projects. Now schools hold the budgets and there’s nothing to spare, so we need more dedicated funding for youth projects. Scrapping ID cards would be one way to find it.
“In the short term, we need firm treatment of offenders, and inevitably jail – but not locking kids up in Feltham and doing nothing with them. We must get them onto courses, particularly anger management and teach them how to to disengage from gangs.”
Wendy Sinclair, Director, Ashfield Young Offenders Institution:
“We need to go back to basics. Why does a young person get involved in the first place? Why do they carry a knife? And with what intentions?
“I’d like to see resources for targeted interventions that examine the risk factors before they come into custody. But if we can answer those questions, we can offer alternatives to change their culture and improve behaviour whilst in custody.
“If it’s about their risk reduction, personal safety, self-esteem and self-resilience, then we can help them get emotionally and physically fit. If there are other problems we can work on them too.
“For example, Ashfield Young Offenders Institution works with the PEOPLE charity on a societal inclusion course called ‘Moving Forward’ to drive and improve self-esteem and citizenship.”
Alf Hitchcock, Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Metropolitan Police. ACPO lead on knife crime:
“For the police, we must focus on the intelligence we need to understand the problem and deploy resources correctly. That means profiling offenders, victims and circumstances, and targeting the known offenders and hot spots – particularly pubs and transport links – with high-visibility policing
“We must work with partners to get key messages across – that carrying a knife makes you less safe, not more, and that you will get caught and charged, and a conviction will ruin your chances in life. All these are short-term fixes, of course. Finding real solutions means tackling much longer-term societal issues.”
Compiled by Matthew Hickley, Home Affairs Correspondent, the Daily Mail
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