Knife Crime

7 The government's stated aim of halving knife crime could be more effectively and legally achieved through investment in evidence-based prevention and intervention programmes that address underlying causes whilst respecting fundamental rights. Such approaches would not only be more likely to achieve sustainable reductions in violence but would also avoid the potential for legal challenge and community alienation inherent in the current proposals. Recommendations In order to ensure that efforts to address knife crime are effective and fair, we make the following recommendations relating to the content of the Bill: Discourse and Framing • Reframe the discourse around knife crime to avoid generating fear and moral panic, which is itself a key driver of knife-carrying among children and young people. Focus instead on understanding knife crime as a facet of wider serious violence, where children often experience social harms and require a welfare response, rather than as an isolated or escalating category of offending. • Disaggregate and contextualise knife crime data in all official reporting. This includes clearly distinguishing between possession, threats, and actual violence, and avoiding misleading comparisons which are not based in appropriate data. • Adopt a child-centred approach that addresses the underlying drivers of knife related crime, including unmet social care needs, experiences of trauma, exclusion from education, exploitation by organised crime groups, and community deprivation. This should include a renewed focus on re-engaging children with education and exploring models such as peace education to support conflict resolution. Alternative Interventions: • Treat the discovery of a knife as a moment for social intervention, not solely criminal justice action. Police contact for knife possession should trigger an assessment of unmet needs and referral to appropriate services, rather than exclusion from education or progression into custody. These services may include peer mentoring, family social care support, and mental health care. • Establish statutory funding for community-led violence interruption programmes modelled on successful international examples, with particular emphasis on employing credible messengers from affected communities.