Timely news
The extent to which young people are carrying and using knives in one UK city
[July 2009] Perpetuity has recently surveyed young people aged 11 to 17 in one city in the UK
to better understand the trends and patterns in knife carrying amongst young people. The study was
commissioned so that local partners in the area can gain a better understanding of the problem so
that resources can be allocated to areas of the city most in need.
By administering the survey local partners now have a much better understanding of their local issues.
Here is a summary of what we found.
Thirteen percent of the young people surveyed had carried a knife, and eight per cent had done so
in the last 12 months. This compares with three per cent nationally who had carried a knife in the
last 12 months, although it should be noted that our sample included some higher risk groups, such
as young people from Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) and Children’s Homes.Of those young people who reported carrying a knife, this started at a young age, with nearly half first carrying a knife when they were aged 12 or under. Protection or self defence were cited as the main reasons why young people carry knives and this reflects national findings. It is however important to note that a quarter carry knives such as penknives purely for their hobbies and this reason featured much higher locally than it does in the national findings.
Approximately one quarter of young people who had carried a knife had done so with the intention of using it to threaten someone else. A family member was most commonly the person that was threatened. Young people also used a knife to threaten other young people, bullies, friends and to steal from someone.
Thirteen percent of young people surveyed had been threatened by someone else with a knife in the past 12 months, most commonly a stranger or another young person. The most popular reason why a knife was used to threaten them was because the perpetrator was trying to steal something from them.
Young people’s awareness of the law in relation to how old you have to be to purchase a knife was mixed. In fact less than half of the sample knew that the minimum age was 18. Some of the key recommendations to emerge from the survey findings were as follows:
Work is needed to uncover how young people are purchasing knives under-age – test purchase operations may be one approach.
It would be beneficial to educate young people on knives at an early age, preferably through lessons and the media. This is needed to improve their awareness of the law in relation to carrying knives and also to increase their understanding of the consequences of carrying and using knives. Measures are needed to tackle young people’s perceptions that carrying a knife for self defence will make them safer.
A recent survey undertaken by Radio 1’s Newsbeat of young people aged 13 to 19 in five hotspot areas – London, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Thames Valley found that ten percent of teenagers still carry a weapon to feel safe. The majority of young people said they carry a knife for protection or respect from their friends. This differs from the findings of our survey where self defence was the most predominant reason, but reasons relating to image and reputation were relatively uncommon. Clearly patterns and trends in knife carrying and use can vary between different areas. Therefore, individual strategies are needed to target the differing problems and priorities. If you are interested in exploring the nature of knife carrying or use in your area, please contact Perpetuity on prci@perpetuitygroup.com or 0116 2225555.
