Knife crime affects people of all ages and backgrounds across the country, and all too often both perpetrator and victim are young people. However, throughout our inquiry we heard evidence that a young person’s risk of getting involved in knife crime is dramatically different between different groups of young people. Young people who for example experience mental health issues, adverse childhood experiences, have learning difficulties, live in poverty or are excluded from school are more likely to be vulnerable to involvement in knife crime.
We welcome the Government’s recent commitment to the public health approach which we agree can, if done effectively, identify and help young people at risk. As there are complex, and often numerous, factors making a young person vulnerable to involvement in knife crime, one public service will not be able to tackle knife crime independently.
