Getting to the heart of England's knife crime

Fear factor

Another group aiming to turn the knife crime tide is the Ben Kinsella Trust, founded in memory of 16-year-old Ben Kinsella, who was stabbed to death by three teenagers in an unprovoked attack in North London in June 2008.

Its mission is to "educate young people on the dangers of knife crime and help them to make positive choices to stay safe", through workshops that explain the link between choices and consequences, and promote the message that carrying a knife for safety is a tragic myth.

Trust CEO Patrick Green told China Daily that one of the biggest challenges is misinformation, often from social media.

"Something young people often tell us, as older people, is that their world is different and we can't understand it," he said. "They are genuinely scared, if not absolutely terrified, of knife crime.

"That fear is, in fact, hugely disproportionate to actual levels of knife possession or crime, but when there is a climate of fear, you try to dissipate it by doing something you think will keep yourself safe, like carrying a knife supposedly to help you get out of difficult situations. The reality is the complete opposite."

Although it is hard to make exact comparisons, Green said England has a much worse knife crime problem than other European countries, for several reasons.

"Austerity cuts brought in in 2011 had a well-acknowledged huge impact in terms of driving crime, particularly knife crime," he explained. "And 1.2 billion pounds ($1.5 billion) has been lost from youth services since 2010. They're vital in terms of putting positive role models and activities in front of young people, so lose them and you create a vacuum.

"Criminals, particularly in the drugs trade, exploit young people and often equip them with knives, not to protect themselves, but to protect the drugs."

The trust's interventions are a two-way street, because Green said the feedback received constantly reshapes its educational offerings.

"We have a purpose-built exhibition with a series of interconnecting rooms which tell the story of people directly affected by knife crime," he said. "In an immersive setting, we help young people to understand the reality of what happens when you carry a knife. It's very powerful and they find it relevant.

"Trusted adults should all be connecting with young people on this subject as they are making decisions on it, often based on what they see on their phones. It's important that we get a strong counter-narrative across so they can make better decisions."