Knife crime and safeguarding

Knife crime is a serious and growing issue affecting children and young people across the UK. Over the past decade, knife-related assaults and homicides involving teenagers have risen significantly - even as overall youth violence has declined. While only a small percentage of young people are involved, the consequences are devastating: serious injuries, deaths, and communities living in fear.

Many children and young people carry knives out of fear or for status, with underlying factors including poverty, exploitation, and/or trauma. Knowing about knife crime helps understand the risks, spot warning signs, support those affected, and be part of the solution - whether you're a parent, teacher, peer, or community member.

Overall, there has been a multi-faceted strategy to curb knife crime, focusing on tougher laws, policing tactics, and preventative initiatives. Key elements include:

• Tougher Laws and Sentencing: The government has tightened legislation on weapons and punishments over the last decade. It is illegal to carry a knife in public without good reason (maximum 4 years imprisonment) (House of Commons Library), and since 2015 repeat offenders face a mandatory minimum custodial sentence (6 months for adults, shorter but still custodial for 16–17-year-olds). The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 banned certain dangerous items (e.g. “zombie knives” and knuckle-dusters) and made it harder for under-18s to buy knives online (requiring identity checks and banning home delivery). In 2024, the law was further strengthened to ban more blade types (e.g. specific machetes and so-called “ninja swords”) and to require retailers to report suspicious knife sales to police (The Education Hub).
  
  Courts have also been encouraged to use Knife Crime Prevention Orders (civil orders to restrict and monitor those likely to offend) and have imposed stiffer sentences for knife-enabled crimes, especially when involving children and young people as victims. These legal measures aim to deter carrying and facilitate the removal of weapons from circulation.
  
  
• Police response: Police forces have scaled up targeted efforts to detect and discourage knife carrying. A prominent example is Operation Sceptre, a national coordinated week of action across police forces. In a single week of Operation Sceptre in May 2023, police across England and Wales seized around 9,700 knives from the streets and made 1,693 arrests (829 for knife-related offences) (National Police Chiefs' Council).
  
  Tactics during such operations include weapon sweeps of parks and public areas, deployment of knife detection arches and wands in public places, knife amnesty bins for anonymous weapon drop-off, and increased stop-and-search patrols in hotspots. Outside of these operations, many police forces have dedicated Violent Crime Task Forces or knife crime units focusing on youth gangs and habitual knife carriers.
  
  Stop-and-search use has risen in hotspot areas under powers like Section 60 (no-suspicion weapons searches) as a short-term suppression tactic, though this has raised concerns about disproportionately targeting specific racial groups (House of Commons Library). Additionally, new tools like Serious Violence Reduction Orders are being piloted, which allow police to search known knife offenders routinely.
  
  In some force areas, police also work closely with schools – assigning school liaison officers and giving educational talks – as well as using intelligence-led approaches (for example, monitoring social media for threats or illegal knife sales). The aim is to pair crackdowns on knife carrying with outreach to dissuade children and young people from arming themselves.
  
  
• Early Intervention and Community Programs: Recognising that enforcement alone cannot solve the problem, the UK government and local authorities have invested in preventative initiatives, often adopting a public health-style approach.
  
  Following a spike in youth violence, the Home Office launched the Serious Violence Strategy in 2018 emphasising early intervention in the lives of at-risk children and young people (Ofsted). This was followed by funding the creation of Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) in areas across England and Wales. VRUs bring together police, social services, education, and healthcare to identify children and young people at risk of being drawn into violence and provide holistic support (such as mentoring, mental health support, and employment opportunities).
  
  Made law in 2022, the Serious Violence Duty requires local authorities, police, health agencies and others to collaborate on tackling serious violence, ensuring a multi-agency plan is in place. There has also been significant investment in youth services: for example, the Youth Endowment Fund was established in 2019 to trial and evaluate violence prevention programs (House of Commons Library).
  
  Community organisations and charities play a crucial role as well – projects like the St. Giles Trust’s SOS Programme and the Ben Kinsella Trust workshops educate young people about the dangers of knife carrying, often using ex-offenders or the stories of knife crime victims to deliver powerful messages. Initiatives have also included programs such as hospital “teachable moment” programs where youth workers have been located in emergency rooms to engage young stab wound victims (to prevent retaliation and recurrence).
  
  More recently (2024), the government launched a Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime that brings together police, schools, health services, youth workers, victim families, tech companies, and sports groups to understand and address the root causes of youth violence. Plans were also announced to establish “Young Futures” prevention partnerships to coordinate local support for at-risk teenagers. These efforts indicate a strategy increasingly focused on addressing underlying factors – such as poverty, exclusion, and gang grooming – that drive young people towards knife crime (Ofsted). By improving youth opportunities, providing positive role models, and intervening early when children show signs of risky behaviour, authorities aim to reduce the incentive or need to carry knives.
  
  
• Public Awareness and Education Campaigns: The government and police have run public campaigns to change attitudes toward knife carrying. For example, the Home Office’s #KnifeFree campaign (launched in 2018) used social media, advertising and school materials to share real-life stories of young people who chose to live “knife-free” and to highlight the legal consequences of carrying a knife. Police forces regularly visit schools to deliver talks on knife crime, often alongside charities or even reformed ex-offenders, to dispel myths (such as the idea that carrying a knife offers protection) and to encourage pupils to report concerns.
  
  Surveys have found that fear is a major reason youth carry knives (Ofsted), so these educational efforts stress that carrying a weapon actually increases one’s risk (for example, a young person is far more likely to be stabbed with their own knife if they carry one) and that there are safer ways to seek protection.
  
  Alongside traditional media, social media companies are being pressured to remove content that glorifies knife violence and to shut down online markets for knives sold illegally to minors (The Education Hub). By changing the cultural perception of knives among young people and the wider community, these campaigns hope to make knife-carrying socially unacceptable and reduce youth demand for weapons.

In their research, Ofsted found that for the majority of settings their primary stance was zero tolerance toward weapons along with clear expectations and robust policies: for example, most settings were found to have strict behaviour policies that mandated immediate exclusion for any student found carrying a knife on premises.

There are two aspects to maintaining a safe environment:

1. Maintaining a physically secure environment
   
   The challenge is how your setting would proactively maintain a secure environment.  Does this mean for instance, supervising entrances and exits at the start and end of the day, monitoring areas like gates and bus stops, and liaising with local police to ensure a visible presence during high-traffic times? Fortunately, serious knife incidents on school grounds are relatively rare and tend to be isolated events. Does this serve to provide a perception of safety and reassurance? Inspectors have found that where these features are present, school leaders were generally confident that pupils were safe on site.
   
   Some settings have gone further, implementing additional security technology. Schools are empowered by law to screen students for weapons; metal detector arches and handheld wands can be used at entry points if a headteacher deems it necessary. Settings in higher-risk areas may also choose to also conduct random searches in conjunction with technology, though these approaches are not widespread. The government guidance leaves it up to each setting to decide.
   
   Of note is that studies indicate the most dangerous time for children and young people is often right after school (around 4–6pm), when they are off the premises and potentially vulnerable to street crime. Some settings acknowledge this risk and extend their duty of care beyond the gate – for example, teachers may patrol nearby bus stops or routes home, and schools coordinate with police to protect pupils on their journeys (Ofsted). Thought also needs to be given as to what the setting’s response would be to any violent incident involving students off-campus and whether this would lead to disciplinary action in the setting.  Therefore a knowledge of the surrounding area and the wider contextual lived experience of your students is key.
   
   For all settings, emergency preparedness need to be a part of safety planning – the Department for Education has issued detailed school security guidance which includes handling lockdowns or violent intruders. Staff should be trained in safeguarding responsibilities and drills conducted so that everyone knows how to respond if a serious incident occurs on site.
   
   
2. Developing a safe culture
   
   Arguably, most of the focus should be on preventive policies and developing a safe culture: some of this may include physical actions such as enforcing uniform and bag checks to develop a sense of pride and belonging, others may include more generalist approaches such as encouraging a culture of reporting (so that if a child or young person suspects a peer might have a weapon, they feel safe telling staff). It may also include working closely with external agencies (such as Safer Schools Officers (police) where assigned).
   
   Education settings can also be key venues for preventative programs and outreach to steer young people away from knife crime. Is knife crime awareness incorporated into your curriculum and pastoral care. Does your Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) curriculum include dedicated lessons talking about the dangers of carrying weapons and managing conflict? Is there the option to host external speakers? For example, education settings may invite local police or charities to run anti-knife workshops. Specialist programs like the Ben Kinsella Trust’s exhibitions use immersive experiences to show students the real consequences of knife violence. In London, the Mayor’s Office has supported programs sending knife crime educators (often including victims’ parents or ex-offenders) into schools to share testimonies.
   
   Another approach is peer-led education: some youth organisations train young people to campaign against knife carrying among their classmates. Mentoring and counselling are provided for pupils deemed at risk, and in some areas, schools work with youth workers or psychologists to support children who have been victims of violence or those showing behaviour that might lead to offending.

Whilst exclusion may solve an immediate problem and safeguard the students in the setting, how can children be safeguarded when excluded? Without the structure and protection of an education setting children can be at greater risk of being groomed by exploiters. Many local authority threshold tools will identify either multiple fixed term exclusions or a child being permanently excluded as a marker for potential social care involvement on a child in need basis.  Therefore, at the point of exclusion consideration should be given to what is known about the child being excluded and whether a referral to social care is required.  Such consideration should include what is known about the child, their home circumstances and peer networks – for example, are there any of the vulnerabilities present that would increase their risk of exploitation?

Some children and young people may be groomed to do certain things to get themselves excluded so that there is potentially less involvement from agencies and fewer protective factors. Groomers are constantly evolving to avoid a child’s behaviour flagging safeguarding concerns and this is therefore potentially another means to achieve this aim. 

The underpinning vulnerabilities and needs of children, whether involved in child criminal exploitation or other forms of knife crime, should form part of your school’s safeguarding strategy. Safeguarding Network can help with our underpinning safeguarding curriculum for staff in-house training. Every month we provide DSLs with bite-size training materials to deliver to staff, increasing awareness, developing skills and providing a framework to respond to the needs of your pupils. Our aim is to ensure staff see things earlier, react effectively and that organisations are skilled at utilising their local networks to get children, young people and their families the support they need to reduce vulnerability to issues such as knife crime, either as a perpetrator or a victim. Contact us to be shown around our materials, or join now.