Q & A: Knife crime

The recent spate of fatal stabbings points to a growing culture of knife crime, James Sturcke examines what is being done to combat this menace
Why are knives in the news?
There has been a series of high profile fatal stabbings in recent weeks that have highlighted the number of people routinely carrying knives and put pressure on the government to tackle what many believe is a growing knife-culture.

The killings include the murder of special constable Nisha Patel-Nasri, 29, who bled to death after being stabbed in the leg with a kitchen knife on May 11. A week later Kiyan Prince, 15, was killed outside his north London school on May 18. They have been followed by, among others, the stabbing to death on May 27 of the 19-year-old university student, Thomas Grant, who was killed after he tried to break up a dispute on board a train.

On May 29, police revealed that an array of vicious bladed weapons were among a haul of 90 weapons seized from carnival-goers at the end of the May bank holiday. They were discovered after British Transport police set up airport-style metal detectors at Luton station to stop people on their way to the town's international carnival.

The Independent reported that there were at least 51 knife attacks in Britain and Northern Ireland over that bank holiday weekend.

Is knife violence out of control?
The spate of stabbings has led to fears in the press that knife crime is spiralling out of control. However, this is difficult to measure because the Home Office keeps no statistics on stabbings. A Home Office spokeswoman said that was because there is no specific offence of stabbing. Instead, attackers are charged with a variety of offences such as murder, wounding or grievous bodily harm.

Ian Johnston, chief constable of British Transport police and a spokesman on knife crime for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said on May 31 that there was "no evidence to suggest it [knife crime] is a growing problem" but admitted that it was "a significant problem".

An ACPO spokeswoman said knife crime was "a complex picture" and the problem was a cultural one. "We have not seen an upsurge in knife crime in recent weeks," she told Guardian Unlimited.

The Metropolitan police recorded 12,507 offences involving knives or bladed articles in 2004/05 and 12,589 in 2005/06. It said that 41% of people accused of robbery with a knife are aged between 15 and 18 years, while 13% of those convicted of violence with a knife or blade are in the same age group.

It is clear that more people are killed by knives in Britain than any other weapon. More than 230 murder victims were stabbed to death with a sharp instrument in 2004/05, 29% of those deliberately.

How many stabbings are there a day in the UK?
A Guardian Unlimited analysis of the British Crime Survey figures suggests there are around 100 violent incidents against adults involving knives every day in England and Wales.

The crime survey recorded 2,412,000 violent incidents against adults in 2004/05. Weapons were used in a quarter of those incidents and 6% of those weapons were knives, according to the figures.

However, the crime survey does not cover knife crime among youngsters, the very age group that many fear is primarily responsible for an explosion in the use of knives. A survey by the Youth Justice Board in 2003 found that 29% of young people in London schools admitted that they had carried a knife. That figure rose to 62% among excluded students.

What is the law on knife carrying?
Under current legislation, it is an offence to carry a knife in public without good reason or lawful authority, with the exception of a folding pocket knife with a blade less than three inches in length. Possession of an offensive weapon without lawful authority or reasonable excuse carries a maximum penalty of four years' imprisonment.

Should we be concerned about knife crime?
"The level of knife carrying is frighteningly high, given the lethality of these weapons," Roger Matthews, a criminologist at London South Bank Univerisity, told Guardian Unlimited. "If people are carrying blades, arguments don't finish with punches but with stabbings. This has been waiting to happen.

"What level does it need to get to before someone says we must take this more seriously? Every time there is an amnest,y some say "wow" about the numbers of weapons but do people have to carry them in their teeth before the public wakes up to the problem?"

What is the Home Office doing?
A nationwide knife amnesty began on May 24 and will run until June 30. It is the first countrywide amnesty since 1995, when more than 40,000 potentially lethal weapons were handed in. Secure bins have been placed in many police stations. The Metropolitan police said that by the end of May, 360 weapons had been surrendered, including a samurai sword and a 2ft machete.

Once the amnesty ends, police forces have promised to "robustly" defend the law.

Additionally, the violent crime bill, currently passing through the House of Lords, contains measures to increase the lower age limit for buying knives from 16 to 18 and create an offence of using another person "to mind a weapon".

Will the amnesty work?
Many question whether the amnesty is likely to do anything other than scratch the surface of the knife problem. Prof Matthews said it was "a waste of time" given the number of knives in Britain.

Norman Brennan, director of the Victims of Crime Trust, said it was little more than a PR exercise.

"The Victims of Crime Trust supported the 1995 amnesty. However, since then fatal stabbings have spiralled out of control. It is very clear to those bereaved through knife homicide that amnesties do little or nothing to protect the public from a knife-wielding culture".

Marion Fitzgerald, a former Home Office criminologist, told the BBC that although amnesties do raise awareness, more needs to be done to address the reasons that many people carry knives.

Many people carry knives for self-defence, despite Youth Justice Board research indicating that 65% of young people carrying knives have had them used against them.

What else should be done?
Prof Matthews wants schools across the county to implement a zero tolerance approach to knives and pupils found carrying them to be immediately excluded, in some cases permanently. He also called for random testing in schools.

A parent group has recommended that schools teach self-defence classes to pupils so they do not feel the need to arm themselves with knives. The chief constable of British Transport police, Ian Johnston, has indicated he supported the suggestion.

He told Sky News: "I think that could be worth trying. Something that gives young people the ability to defend themselves without hurting others is a good idea."

Today's best video

Today in pictures