Knife crime is a serious issues these days across England and beyond, leading to lives being put at risk, and also creating a climate of fear and anxiety. The good news is that there are ways to address this problem at community level, to make our streets safer.
There have been huge rises in knife crime in recent years, particularly among young people. And it affects rural areas too, not just inner cities. Poverty and difficult circumstances are not excuse for violence.
But in order to prevent knife crime, we have to realistically look at why it happens, in order to do something about it. The most helpful preventive methods are undoubtedly outreach programs for young people, community policing (to build mutual trust) and knife amnesties.
Schools are obviously a great place to start, to help prevent knife crime. Teachers and visitors can educate on the consequences of knife violence, and the media can also play a part, by not making gangs and violence the norm in society.
Support Systems for Victims and Offenders
Victims (and relatives of victims) need immediately help for emotional trauma, as well as physical injuries. But likewise it’s just as important to rehabilitate offenders, so they go onto to lead law-abiding lives, and contribute to society.
Punishment may be the buzzword in some circles. But shoving someone away for 23 hours a day to come out a drug addict, makes knife attacks more likely to happen.
- Billy’s Wish is a charity founded in the name of an innocent knife crime victim. It offers free resources for schools.
- Fearless is a website where you can give information (anonymously) about a crime or fight that has taken place, or is being planned. The site has a quick close tab and there is no browsing history, personal details or IP address taken.
- Steel Warriors is a London charity that melts down knives taken off the streets, then uses the steel to make ‘street outdoor gyms’ for young people.
How Scotland Dramatically Reduced Knife Crime
A few years ago, Scotland was one of the developed world’s most violent countries by stats. And whereas England and Wales have seen knife crime rates soar, in Scotland the rates have dropped dramatically.
Whereas in 2017 England and Wales had a combined 35 stabbings, in Scotland there were none. This in a country where it used to be more dangerous to walk the street, than in LA or New York. So how did they do this?
As mentioned above, the reason was not very politically correct. As just as Norway has reduced street crime by focusing on community (rather than knee-jerk reactions to just ‘arrest people and lock them away’). Scotland did the same.
New policy is to help find those with knives a home, job and training to do something positive with their lives. Huge amounts of people in Scotland took up this offer, and now it’s rare to hear of anyone being stabbed.
In 2024, there were an estimated 50,000 knife crimes in England, an increase of almost 80% over the past 10 years. In Scotland, there is more trust between the public and police. Distrust (often due to a few racist incidents in London) can build barriers that means trust breaks down, leading to more crime.
Sometimes there are random attacks (and terrorists attacks). But overall, knife crimes can be drastically reduced at community level. Simply by building better trust between the public and police, community outreach and education schemes, combined with regular knife amnesties.
Simple Ways to Support Local Police Forces
Our police forces have been seriously underfunded for years, which has led to all kinds of problems. Compared to some countries (say Afghanistan or Somalia), England is a very safe country. And there are lots of ways to help with preventive crime like town planning ideas to make towns and cities safer for women.
The shocking case of Sarah Everard highlighted the issues we face (she was kidnapped and murdered by the very person – a policeman – that she thought she could trust). Of course, most policemen are trustworthy. But unlike say Monaco (which has a police officer for every 2 people), what can we do amid rising crime rates?
You can obviously call 999 to call the Police in an emergency. You can report crimes anonymously on CrimeStoppers (same for wildlife crime). A good way to help the police is not to waste their time if you don’t need to.
Some people have called asking stupid questions like not knowing a crossword answer, request for local business numbers and one operator even got a call as one person was refusing to share food at the cinema!
The police website has a list of other things you can call them for, non-emergency wise. You can also report these things online. These include frauds and cyberscam, road traffic accidents (including deer/vehicle collisions), antisocial behaviour, domestic abuse, spiking drinks, hate crimes, stalking, missing people or suspected terrorism. You can also ask for updates on previous crime reports.
If you’ve been a victim of crime, you can access free victim support. You can call or text the supportline, start a live chat or fill in a form and someone will get back to you within three working days. Services are confidential.
Become a Special Constable Volunteer
Experts say that we really need around 100,000 extra police officers, to keep up with modern populations and rising crime rates. So special volunteer constables are the other source (which employers can fund, if wished).
Most work around 16 hours a month and wear the same uniform and carry out various tasks including responding to 999 calls, foot/vehicle patrols, tackling anti-social behaviour, participating in house-to-house enquiries and tackling anti-social behaviour. They also may present evidence in court and offer crime prevention advice.
Follow Crime Prevention Advice
Ask your local police force to send a Designing Out Crime Officer to talk to your office, council or school. They are specially trained to know things to avoid (for example not building places with dark narrow alleys). Other examples are ensuring places are well-lit (but avoiding light pollution that affects birds and wildlife), and using surveillance where needed.
Use common sense. Upgrade your passwords to prevent cybercrime, and ensure you purchase good quality locks for doors, gates and bikes. Most thieves will give up if there are no ‘easy pickings’. Don’t leave items in view from windows (or consider living simpler, by selling/donating expensive ornaments and other items that you don’t need).
The less you have of value, the less you have to steal. Nobody has the right to take your belongings, but if you don’t live in a house with masses of expensive jewellery, then people are less likely to target your property for burglaries.
Outside your home, again remove ‘helpers’ for burglars. Place ladders etc away out of sight, and ensure anything that could be stepped on to higher rooms (like bins or rubble) are cleared away. Security-mark items of value, and use a (good) burglar alarm if needed, but one that doesn’t keep going off in the middle of the night. Verisure is a reputable company.
Don’t tell people on social media that you are going away. For large-value items in homes, you can now buy programmes to temporarily switch on lights etc, to give the impression that someone is home.
Set up a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme
If one does not already exist in your area, set up a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme. This is not for ‘nosy neighbours’ but instead helps people to look out for each other, in case something does not look right. The site has heaps of crime prevention advice that you could go through together at regular meetings.
