Knife Crime in the UK: A Review of Recent Research and Interventions

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 have seen increasing knife crime since 2011, with areas with the highest increases being the West Midlands, West Yorkshire, and Thames Valley. In England and Wales, white males between the ages of 16–34 are at greatest risk of being the victims, offenders or victim-offenders of knife crime.

Knife crimes can fall under a number of offences - including possession, homicide, attempted murder, threats to kill, various kinds of assault, robbery, rape and sexual assault. The offences are mainly split across three pieces of legislation, the Prevention of Crime Act 1953, the Criminal Justice Act 1988, and the Offensive Weapons Act 2019.
Some common factors known to influence young people to carry knives are: self-protection, county lines (organised drug networks), peer pressure, and social deprivation. Lack of trust in the police is frequently cited in literature that engages with the perspectives of offenders.

Recent literature offers recommendations for multi-agency working including harnessing public health, place-based and problem-oriented approaches. Many recommendations for change feature in the literature, including improving youth services and awareness-raising, involving young people in the debate about knife crime, increasing transparency, fairness and respect on behalf of police, and in-depth research into victim and offender trajectories.

A number of interventions are underway or being implemented, including policy developments such as The London Knife Crime Strategy and The Serious Violence Strategy, and police interventions such as Stop and Search and Knife Crime Prevention Orders (KCPOs). Also, active throughout the UK are youth-work initiatives and campaigns, including those featuring the voices of people with lived experience.

This literature review provides an overview of recent knife crime statistics and legislation, a summary of known demographics of offenders, and some insights into their motivation for carrying knives. Recommendations for research and practice from the literature are described, as well as selected interventions in the UK designed to tackle knife crime.