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An ID crackdown on illegal knife sales won’t work – but here’s what will…

Nathaniel Peat has spent nearly 20 years at the heart of the youth crime epidemic affecting Britain. Here, he explains why the battle for young people’s safety requires far more than tougher rules on knife sales

Thursday 23 January 2025 04:21 EST
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Woman gives passionate speech about knife crime during Question Time

While I applaud the idea of tougher rules on online knife sales to reduce young people’s access to them, we must recognise that the problem runs much deeper. It is not the knives themselves that cause harm but the mindsets behind their use.

Over the past 18 years at The Safety Box, the youth social enterprise I founded, we have consistently highlighted that if a knife is not available, individuals can still resort to kitchen knives or other tools. The real issue lies in the mindset, which needs to be fundamentally shifted.

Addressing this problem requires detailed interventions and credible messengers who can unpack the trauma young people face. Providing them with the necessary resources to start businesses or pursue other positive paths is crucial. Trauma therapy can help tackle the root causes. Many young people carry knives for protection, yet they are not equipped with the skills to prevent such incidents through mindset training or self-defence skills. Building self-esteem and confidence is essential through youth workers equipped with qualifications in life coaching and cognitive behaviour therapy – especially since youth services have suffered significant budget cuts and third-sector organisations struggle to make a greater impact.

It will take more than tougher checks to solve this issue. Reactive measures may put a dent in the short term but we must also focus on deep preventative methods that are even more powerful. I commend the efforts of campaigners like Pooja Kanda, who has tirelessly advocated for change after losing her son, Ronan. This is a call for increased funding for youth provisions, helping young people access employment and education pathways after successful interventions. Practical solutions, such as apprenticeship schemes, can elevate them from poverty and provide sustainability. There is also a need for better training for school teachers, probation officers, social workers and Youth Justice Workers especially those in rural Britain.

‘It is not just about removing the knives; it is about transforming the mindset’
‘It is not just about removing the knives; it is about transforming the mindset’ (PA)

Knife crime has plagued our communities for far too long. It is not just about removing the knives; it is about transforming the mindset. This is the mission we strive to achieve at The Safety Box. For many years, reactive measures such as stop and search have been employed to combat knife crime. However, these approaches often have little impact and come across as draconian and disproportionately affect Black and Asian communities, particularly when executed poorly by some police officers. While I do not oppose stop and search when conducted appropriately, it is essential to recognise that these reactive measures alone will not bring about the change we desperately need.

Young people will always find alternative methods to address their challenges; therefore, it is crucial that we shift our focus toward changing mindsets. It is not simply knives or guns that lead to violence, but the attitudes and beliefs that underpin these actions. High-level, evidence-based interventions have been proven to reduce violence effectively, including the public health model approach. Initiatives like ours at The Safety Box demonstrate significant progress in violence reduction through programs, including those aimed at young people in prisons, showcasing outstanding statistics in reducing weapon usage among youth previously engaged in county lines.

However, much more needs to be done. The solutions to this crisis run deeper than merely enacting laws to ban specific types of knives. As a community, we must address the root causes of violence, including the underlying issues driving the drug trade, poverty in youth, mental health and social exclusion, we must work together to shift the prevailing culture. It is time to unite our efforts across private, public and the community and create lasting change that addresses these fundamental challenges, rather than relying solely on reactive measures.

Organisations like ours require help from the private sector and the community to do more to be the stop-gap in between the services to help young people not only stay safe but thrive.

Nathaniel Peat is the founder of The Safety Box, a social enterprise focused on reducing youth violence.

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