2. ‘Now it truly is the
time to stand up and
put an end to this.’
- Kinsella Family
3. Over the last 3 years we have collected extensive
impact data from young people attending the Ben
Kinsella Exhibition. To date over 7200 young people
have visited the exhibition, the majority (64%) aged
between 9-11 years old. Using responses from 3950
young people who visited between 2013 and 2015 we
have been learning about what young people think
about their communities and crime. The feedback
that these young people have given us highlights how
concerned they are about knife crime. Despite the best
efforts of government, local authorities and the police
to address the problem, the majority of young people
visiting our exhibition still feel the problem is getting
worse. For example, 1 in every 2 young people don’t
always feel safe walking our streets and 1 in every
7 knows a friend who carries a knife. We find these
results staggering and have produced this report
to highlight not only the young people’s fears about
knife crime, but to share some of the successes of our
exhibition and workshop in addressing these issues,
most notably:
Executive Summary
Of those young people who had
considered carrying a knife to
protect themselves:
70% said they would no
longer consider this option.
Of the number of young people
who admitted carrying a knife:
half SAID they would not do
so any longer following their
visit to our exhibition.
The Ben Kinsella TRUST 2016 02
We believe that these results demonstrate how effective and powerful
educating young people about the dangers of carrying a knife and
empowering them to make positive choices can be.
4. About The Ben Kinsella Trust
The Ben Kinsella TRUST 201603
Ben Kinsella was just sixteen years old when he
was stabbed to death in an unnecessary act of
horrific violence. He had recently finished school, was
predicted top grades for his GCSEs and was looking
forward to a life full of promise. Ben's family wanted
to use his story to prevent any other families having to
go through the devastation that they experienced; and
so in 2008, just months after Ben was taken from them,
The Ben Kinsella Trust was started.
The Kinsella family wanted to create a legacy for Ben
by supporting young people growing up in London to
make positive choices, educating them on the impact
and consequences of knife crime and helping them
to think about how to make smart choices and stay
safe. Being open about the effect that losing Ben
has had on their family is one way that this impact is
communicated, as his sister Brooke says:
“Ben was murdered on Sunday, June 29, 2008. He
was 16. I have used many words in connection with
my brother over the years - annoying and lazy
among them - but never did I think I would place his
name next to a terrible word such as murder….If I
could talk to Ben one last time, I would tell him he
was the best little brother a girl could ask for. That he
made my life so much fun and no one will make me
laugh like he did. That I love him more than he could
know and wish I had told him so much more often.”
Since Ben’s murder the Kinsella family have
become known for speaking out about knife crime
and campaigning for change, from the People’s
March in 2008, to being instrumental in changing
the minimum tariff for knife murders in 2010 to
setting up The Ben Kinsella Exhibition in 2012.
5. The Ben Kinsella TRUST 2016 04
Islington’s Youth Crime Strategy, laid out in 2015,
claimed: “We are committed to making Islington
one of the safest boroughs in London. We want
Islington to be a fairer place where every child has
the best start in life and does not become either a
victim or perpetrator of crime.”
The borough’s Children and Families Prevention
and Early Intervention Strategy 2015-2025, states this
amongst their aims for primary school children:
“Children are and feel safe, are able to learn from
experience and have the confidence to make
positive and safe choices”.
We are working with schools, targeted Youth Services and
other Vol untary and Community sector organisations to
achieve these aims through our work.
How does our work fit in with the
Borough and other services?
The Ben Kinsella Exhibition launched in Islington
in September 2012 before moving to Millwall
Football Club for a year, returning to Islington
in November 2014, now our permanent home.
Children visit the exhibition from schools and
organisations in the boroughs closest to the exhibition
such as Islington, Haringey, Enfield, Hackney,
Southwark and Lewisham. These are all inner London
boroughs housing densely populated, diverse and
deprived populations.
Islington, which is the ‘home’ borough of the charity,
has a population of 225,000 people and is the 26th
most deprived authority in England. A staggering
32.4% of children in Islington are living in poverty,
the third highest in England after Tower Hamlets
and Middlesborough. Just over a quarter of Islington
children live in households where no one is in
employment. As in many inner London boroughs, the
rates of knife crime in Islington are high and sadly in
2015 of the 15 young people murdered in knife attacks
in London, 3 were killed in Islington. In the 12 months
to February 2016, there were 7,690 reported incidents
of violence against a person in Islington, a 13%
increase on the previous year.
In 2015, 4,978 young people were reported as victims
of crime in the borough, although this figure is likely
to be higher due to unreported crime. Our charity is
delivering a much needed service is an area where
young people can be vulnerable to becoming involved
in criminal activity or victims of crime.
Where do we work?
young people have attended a workshop with their
school or organisation since we launched in 2012.7200
64%of exhibition
visitors were from
primary schools
(aged 9-11 years old)
before and after evaluation surveys were completed
between June 2013 - December 2015 which provided the
data for this report.
3950
22% were from
secondary schools
14%were from
youth organisations
or youth offending
teams
6. In ‘Ben’s Room’ they find out about what Ben was
like and what they have in common with him: “Ben
Kinsella was a sixteen year old boy who loved life. He
loved his family and friends, his dog Teddy, football,
art, cooking and girls. He had a heart of gold and was
the biggest clown there ever was – always trying to
make people laugh in any way he could.”
Walking into our ‘Cinema room’ the young people
watch a documentary about the night of Ben's murder
and the ripple effect it had on his family, friends and
a whole community. As one young person said, “The
most emotional part was the cinema. It really told me
how the family felt and it made me think about how my
family would feel if it had been me who got stabbed.”
We believe that by showing the impact that losing Ben
had on his family and friends, young people can realise
the consequences of carrying a knife. Teachers agree
with this: “Very sensitive and tragic circumstances
were dealt with appropriately and the children learnt
a great deal that will hopefully help them to make the
right choices in the future to keep themselves and
others safe.”
In the ‘Consequences Room’ young people start to
learn about what happens if you make negative and
The journey that young people embark on when they visit the Ben Kinsella
Exhibition aims to start them thinking about consequences and choices.
The Ben Kinsella Exhibition
The Ben Kinsella TRUST 201605
7. The Ben Kinsella TRUST 2016 06
positive choices, about choosing the right friends; they
learn about joint enterprise and the laws surrounding
knife crime. In the words of one young person:
“I would advise every person my age to come
and see this. It teaches you a lot about life and its
consequences. Lots of young people I know don’t
realise the consequence of carrying a knife and what
it could do. Hopefully we learn from this.”
Participants then step into the prison cell, the most
popular part of the exhibition, where one of the actors
drives home the reality of what life in prison is truly
like. “If I am honest I hated being in that room. The
prisoner scared me, he was so intense and then sad.
Even the boy in our class that is the mouthy one was
quiet! It really gives you a sense of what prison is like.”
A parent who came along to the exhibition with her
son said this about the cell:
“The actor in the prison cell was so realistic, I believe
this part of the day had a massive impact on my son,
he knows now that he never wants to end up there.”
Young people go on to take part in a role play using
a large comic strip and discuss how to say no and
identify good or bad friends. They finish the workshop
by being asked to sign a pledge to never carry a knife.
Over the last 3 years we have collected extensive
impact data from young people and taken on board
their feedback about what does and doesn’t work at the
exhibition. From this feedback we have made changes
such as moving away from paper based work to
launching interactive technology apps used on tablets
in the consequences room and to sign the pledge;
which was an area of the exhibition which young people
said could be improved. We hope that the learning does
not end at our doors, and we encourage teachers and
parents to pick up these messages again in school
and at home. After filling in some of the take-home
worksheets with her class, one teacher said:
“I would like to say how poignant and well thought-
out the exhibition is. It really makes the students
think about the consequences, and I am sure it was
an experience the students will remember for a long
time...I can honestly say my students have learned.”
8. The Ben Kinsella TRUST 201607
Young people are both aware and very concerned
about knife crime and youth violence in our society.
Both the high rates of concern and the statistics of how
many young people have a friend who has carried a
knife show that young people need a forum in which to
discuss their concerns and ask advice.
We believe that early education is crucial, and so we
focus on the transition ages of years 6 and 7 as young
people start secondary school, make new friends
and are exposed to new influences. With over half of
young people only sometimes or never feeling safe
on our streets, these are worrying and sad statistics
that show heightened fear in some young people which
could potentially lead to carrying a knife in certain
circumstances.
Having seen a rise in knife crime and youth violence
in the capital in 2015 our concern is that violent
behaviour becomes normalised by a minority of
young people.
What have we found out?
of young people
think that knife
crime is a problem.
93%
83%
of young people
are concerned
about youth
violence.
of young people
think that knife
crime is getting
worse.
54%
5%
of young people
never feel safe
walking on our
streets.
47%
of young people
only sometimes
feel safe walking
on our streets.
of young people said a friend of
theirs had carried a knife14.9%
9. The Ben Kinsella TRUST 2016 08
Overall these numbers show an important change
in attitude in some young people following
our intervention, with more young people
understanding that carrying a knife will not
protect them.
We can also identify that there are some young
people who are at higher risk of offending and
potentially becoming a victim. These young people
need further support, and we know that we still have
more work to do to try to ensure that no young person
leaves thinking that it is a good idea to carry a knife.
We work with youth offending teams, and so it is not
a surprise that some young people have entrenched
beliefs and fears about their safety and knife carrying.
The challenge is to get across our message in a
relevant and effective way.
Because of this challenge we have recently piloted
a 6 week programme with a small number of young
people who have been convicted of a knife offence, as
we realise a one-off intervention is not likely to be as
effective with this group.
Before the workshop 9% of the young people thought
that carrying a knife would protect them.
After the tour 2.4%
of young people
still thought that
carrying a knife
would protect them.
Before the workshop 3.5% of
young people said they had
carried a knife before and 7.2% of
young people said that they had
thought about carrying a knife.
After the workshop 1.8% of young people said that they
would still consider carrying a knife in the future.
84.1% of young people reported
that they had learnt a lot about
the choices they could make to
stay safe and out of trouble.
Young people’s learning
100% of teachers
that visited said that
they would bring
another group to the
exhibition and that The
Trust are achieving key
learning objectives.
87.2% said
they had
learnt a lot
about the
consequences
of knife crime.
86.4% said
they had
learnt a lot
about Joint
Enterprise
and the law.
Knife Carrying
Less than 1% of
young people felt
that they hadn’t
learnt anything
from the exhibition.
10. The Ben Kinsella TRUST 201609
Over 6500 young people in London have heard
Ben’s story and learnt about the consequences
and choices connected with knife crime. The
Ben Kinsella Exhibition is an impactful tool for the
education and prevention of knife crime, and the
majority of our visitors report high levels of learning.
Participation in a workshop with the Trust shows a
measurable, immediate impact on young people’s
perception of carrying a knife. Young people reported
a higher level of confidence in making choices after the
tour, with a majority responding that they had learnt
a lot. The Trust through Ben’s exhibition is delivering
Ben’s legacy; and we will continue this important work
until we stop losing our children to this tragic and
pointless crime.
We recognise that there are many others who work
towards this aim and are doing fantastic work in crime
prevention and education, and that only together will
we make the difference that we want.
Summary
Recommendations
Plans for the future
Knife crime is a complex issue, with many
underlying social issues. Early education is one
part of the solution. We believe that in order for
this work to be of most benefit to young people it
must be reinforced with similar messages in school
and at home. We are working alongside The PSHE
association to improve the resources that we provide
to schools to support them in this, and we hope to
develop a take-home app for young people that can
support them in staying safe.
For the young people who are the most at risk of
being involved in knife crime and youth violence,
working with partners, we are developing a longer-
term programme as we recognise that this is more
appropriate. To build on our work for young people
taking the transition from primary to secondary
school, we have developed interactive summer
workshops that includes Ben’s Story, making friends,
bullying, and peer pressure. We are also going to
open up our space to parents and carers in order to
improve awareness and support in the community.
We recognise that more needs to be done to measure
the long term impact of our work, and so we will be
piloting methods to capture this data and find out more
about what happens to the children that we meet in the
years to come.
To find out more about our work or any of the information in his report, please
contact The Ben Kinsella Trust at Email: queries@benkinsella.org.uk
and visit our website: www.benkinsella.org.uk
Schools and youth organisations should
recognise that youth violence and knife crime
are issues that have touched the lives of many of
their young people, and opportunities should be
given for discussion and advice in an open and
supportive environment.
The curriculum should be changed to make education
around these issues mandatory as part of a wider PSHE
agenda. There needs to be increased recognition of the role
that all sectors and organisations play in a young person’s life
in order to make the best referrals that we can at the time
when a young person needs additional support. We must
all work together if we want to see an end to young people
being murdered on our streets.
Parental engagement should be encouraged in programmes
that support them in recognising the signs of when their child
is getting into trouble and positive parenting techniques of
how to deal with this.
Young people should be nurtured and supported - if we all
recognise the significant challenges that young people face
today - then education, sharing, and having open dialogue
with young people can lead to building trust, and them
seeking help and support when they need it.
11.
12. The Ben Kinsella Trust
The Hub
5 Torrens St, London EC1V 1NQ
Email: queries@benkinsella.org.uk
f /kinsellatrust t @kinsellatrust
www.benkinsella.org.uk
Registered charity number 1126612
