The JJ Effect Evaluation

Abstract

Knife crime covers a range of activities that involve the possession, threat to use, or the use
of a bladed or sharply pointed article in a public place. Almost all police forces in England and
Wales have seen increasing knife crime since 2011, with white males between the ages of 16–
34 at greatest risk of being the victims, offenders, or victim-offenders. However, it is
acknowledged that further research is needed to understand female involvement, in addition
to the underpinning social, economic, cultural and political contexts that underpin knife crime
more broadly, in order to design appropriate methods of intervention.
The aim of this report was to evaluate a Lancashire-based youth support service: the JJ Effect.

The project was launched by Byron Highton, following the murder of his younger brother Jon-Jo,
to raise awareness and divert young people away from knife crime and criminal
exploitation. The evaluation aimed to identify the impacts that the programme was having on
young people who have been identified as being at risk of, or were known to have been
involved with, violent crime. In addition, the report also aimed to provide insight into the
strengths and points for improvement regarding the nature and delivery of the programme’s
activities.

The project involved semi-structured interviews with a sample of young people enrolled on
the programme (n = 6), and with facilitators of the programme (co-ordinators, practitioners,
and volunteers) (n = 5). Observations were taken during three sessions of the programme,
evaluating young people’s engagement with the activities, as well as their relationships with
each other and the facilitators. All qualitative data was analysed through NVivo and was
subject to thematic analysis to highlight key themes for the evaluation.

Key findings include the social and educative benefits of the programme for young people,
with positive impacts being reported not only on their violent crime involvement, but also
their wider self-esteem, confidence and relationships with family and friends. Some young
people also reported their (re)engagement with education activities, including school and The
Prince’s Trust. They also directly cited the activities (especially the lived experience talks) and
the general notions of belonging and feeling valued as being key influences in these decisions.
Findings generally supported previous literature as to motivations for involvement in knife
and other violent crime, including mental health, social barriers, and adverse childhood
experiences.

Several improvements for future versions of the programme were highlighted within the data,
including being more effective in timely involvement of multi-agency partners to identify
appropriate cohorts for the programme and facilitate the young people’s involvement;
improving safeguarding policies and practice, and increasing diversity in activities offered to
suit the cohort’s needs. Identifying ways in which to adequately measure success was also
highlighted as an important feature, as this would evidence the varied impacts that the
programme has on young people and to continue to adapt its structure accordingly.

Some methodological limitations have restricted the quality of the review and thus findings
should be viewed with caution – particularly as the sample of young people required more
diversity in relation to the ratio of frequent/non-frequent attenders, ethnicity, and age.
Future evaluations should include a more longitudinal, ethnographic evaluation of the
programme to document the impacts pre- and post- implementation and to allow more time
to appropriately build rapport with the young people for multiple interview opportunities.
However, the report does provide a useful insight into how the programme could be
developed further, should funding continue.

Please note that this is a redacted version of the final report.