London's Knife Crime Epidemic: Causes and Solutions

Since the beginning of the year, London has witnessed 36 fatal stabbings and a total of 62 deaths resulting from knife and gun crime - figures that are half up on the same period last year. England and Wales has witnessed an annual rise of 20% in both gun and knife crime. Most killings are gang-related and the remainder mainly drug-related. Just days after the borough of Camden held its largest ever march where a 1000-strong cohort of parents, teachers and children pleaded for a call to action against knife crime, a 17-year-old girl was shot and murdered. Why are so many young people - often men - resorting to indiscriminate violence, and what solutions, if any, are there to help curb such violence?

In 2014, two London MPs advocated successfully for new stringent binding sentences for knife possession, meaning that anyone aged above 16 caught with a knife twice would face compulsory imprisonment. However, since this law has come into effect, knife crime has increased. Causes of today’s knife crime epidemic are wide-ranging.

One of the major causes of knife crime is domestic violence. Many of the most serious offenders - now excluded from mainstream education - have either witnessed or been victims of domestic violence in their formative years. The vast majority have absent fathers and, consequently, a scarcity of positive role models. Such trauma is rooted in fear, and if left unresolved, can easily be processed into anger which manifests itself in indiscriminate violence.

Flaws within the education system do not help vulnerable young people. After being excluded from mainstream education, young men and women are often sent to alternative schools where they are taught by unqualified, interim teachers. The study hours there are fewer than within mainstream education and the majority of pupils fail to secure the necessary number of GCSEs required for further education or employment. This provides them with more opportunity for gang involvement. (Roughly 60% of prisoners come from this group of people). The irony of living in one of the world’s most thriving economies is that there is, in reality, gross inequality within the education and work sectors. This is due in no small part to economic austerity, which has made it more difficult for young men and women from challenging backgrounds to ‘succeed’ now than ten years ago. They are all too aware of this. Therefore, the allure of a quick pound and recognition from gangmates drives older gang members to recruit younger members through pyramid schemes.

To combat these problems, various initiatives have been set up. ‘The Difference’ encourages dedicated and highly-skilled teachers to move from mainstream into alternative education whilst ‘Debate Mate’ develops the self-confidence and speaking skills of young people from disadvantaged communities with the hope that this will keep them in school. The Integrated Gangs Team - comprised of an intelligence analyst, forensic psychologist and a mental health – was set up in Islington to work closely with council staff and police officers to support various youth services by understanding the causes of violent behaviour committed by a small group of young people. This has helped to divert the vulnerable and protect those at threat from older gang members. In Glasgow, in response to the deaths of 63 young men to violent crime in 2007, The Community Initiative to Reduce Violence was set up to introduce more stringent enforcement whilst providing willing gang members with support securing training and work. Most recently in London, the Home Office’s £1.35million #knifefree adverts campaign has shown case studies of former gang members who have changed their lives after going knife-free. It is a significant amount of capital to invest in. A common view shared among former gang members-turned-anti-gang activists is that such an investment would have made much more difference had it been used to help young gang members set up their own business.

Changes within the policing sector have arguably played a role in the rise of violent crime. Government-enforced police cuts have led to a far greater reduction of police community support officers (PCSO) than police officers, meaning that PCSOs, who were previously closely involved within the community and had a visible presence, are no longer there. 240 police officers have already left Islington and the results are clear to see.

If we look at the police response to knife crime over the last 20 years, it has, on the whole, led to short-term solutions that include increased ‘stop-and-search’ and a crack-down on drug dealing. This has created increased tension between black and ethnic minority communities (BAME) and the police. Increasing levels of random stop-and-search will only further alienate young people. If used, it needs to be intelligence-led and not focused on predominantly BAME communities.

We can learn from the way that New York (which, for the first time in living memory, has been surpassed by London in knife crime figures) has tackled its knife crime epidemic in the 1990s. At that time, one of its key approaches was having police officers in street corners as opposed to large groups or being in police vehicles. People naturally felt more comfortable. The Big Apple has become one of the safest major American cities. When walking today’s streets of Islington or Tottenham, one rarely sees single police officers, who are the connecting sinews of a community, but rather the unnerving, unsettling wails of police-car sirens. Why is it that police patrolling the streets in large numbers are found only by Buckingham Palace or Parliament Square?

There is little doubt that many of our youth have lost hope in being able to secure a stable job that can provide a stable income for a secure future. The causes that contribute to the knife crime epidemic are many. Social media and the drug market also contribute to this. The solution ultimately lies in addressing the root of the issue. We need to listen to the inner cries of these boys and girls who are all-too-often thrown out of the secondary schooling system and end up becoming easy prey for gangs. They seek to be heard and need to be heard. If we don’t do so and fail to support them into employment, we may continue losing them and their victims.