The document discusses eliminating knife crime in society. It notes that as a society, we have a responsibility to guide and protect youth. Currently, there is a high rate of teenage deaths from knife crime and the question remains of who the next victim may be. The document aims to analyze the issue of knife crime from different perspectives, identify root causes, and make recommendations to help reduce and eventually eliminate knife crime. It conducted research through questionnaires of parents, youth, and the general public. The analysis found that knife crime is caused by a lack of discipline, poor parenting, peer pressure, and other societal factors. Recommendations to address the issue included increasing discipline, strengthening family values, social programs for youth, and tougher penalties

1. ELIMINATING
KNIFE CRIME IN
OUR SOCIETY
Preserving the leaders of tomorrow
As a society, we have a responsibility to our youth to guide
and protect them in any way we can. This social responsibility
is communal as we are currently facing a high rate of teenage
death to knife crime in our society. The unanswered question
in the hearts of many is who might the next victim be? How
much do we contribute to building a better society and a
better future for the youth?
2010
Toluwalola Kasali
Help Save Our Youth
12/17/2010

2. 2
TABLE OF CONTENT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT....................................................................................................4
DEDICATION......................................................................................................................5
DECLARATION..................................................................................................................6
ABSTRACT..........................................................................................................................7
ABBREVIATION................................................................................................................8
1.0 Section 1
1.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................10
2.0 Section 2
2.1 Background of the knife crime..........................................................................11
3.0 Section 3
3.1 Research Methodology.....................................................................................14
4.0 Section 4
4.1 Analysis of Findings..........................................................................................15
4.1.1 Parents.............................................................................................15
4.1.2 Youth..............................................................................................17
4.1.3 General public.................................................................................18

3. 3
5.0 Section 5
5.1 Conclusion.........................................................................................................20
5.2 Recommendations..............................................................................................22
5.2.1 Preventive Actions...........................................................................22
5.2.2 Corrective Actions...........................................................................30
Bibliography.........................................................................................................................34

4. 4
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank members of the general public that took time out to fill the questionnaires
and in so doing, providing me with ideas and materials for this report. I would also like to thank
the communications team of the prime minister’s office and the home office for their prompt
response to my letter and concerns raised in the letter, I am indeed very grateful. I am also
thankful to God for giving me a heart that yearns for the safety of the youth through which this
report has come about.
Toluwalola Kasali

5. 5
DEDICATION
I dedicate this report to all teenagers that have lost their lives to knife crime in the UK. I also
dedicate this report to the families of victims that have been left behind to grieve the death of
their loved ones; I pray that they find comfort and are able to build up their lives again.

6. 6
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that I am the author of this report and unless otherwise stated, all references
cited have been consulted by me; the work of which this report is a record has been done by me
and it has not been previously used by any country. A copy of this report has been sent to the
prime minister’s office, the home office and Her Majesty the Queen.
SIGNED: Kasali Toluwalola
DATE: 17th
of December, 2010.

7. 7
ABSTRACT
The increase in the number of teenagers lost to knife crime in the United Kingdom (“UK”) has
resulted in an outcry for something to be done to bring an end to the knife crime epidemic;
children are being robbed of their youth, families are being devastated and a society is being
broken. The purpose of this report is to analyse the knife crime situation from different
perspectives, identify the core enabling factors of the knife crime and thereafter, make
recommendations that would help reduce and eventually eliminate knife crime in the UK. The
methodology used in this report is “qualitative analysis”. The result of this analysis shows that no
child is born bad but children are a product of the society in which they find themselves; children
need to grow up in a society where family values are esteemed, respect for others and discipline
exists, and where there are rules guiding their actions with serious consequences for breaking
those rules. So what exactly leads teenagers to a life a crime? What makes them stay in this life
of crime? What can be done to help them get out? How can we rebuild a safe society for the
present and for the future? This report is limited by the method of obtaining responses and the
analysis of such responses.

8. 8
ABBREVIATION
UK United Kingdom

9. 9
REPORT
This report would be in Five (5) sections, section 1 aims to give a sneak peek into the knife crime
situation, section 2 aims to give background information about the knife crime, section 3 aims to
explain the research methodology, section 4 aims to analyse responses and section 5 aims to
reach conclusions and make fact based recommendations on how to effectively reduce and
eventually eradicate knife crime in our society.

10. 10
1.0 SECTION 1
1.1 INTRODUCTION
The murder of a 15 year old boy in broad daylight at one of the busiest stations in London was
the peak to the string of pointless murders that has beleaguered the youth of this nation. The
gangs are getting bolder; they have no respect for life, no respect for the law and no form of
control. Over and over again, we have watched as young lives are cut off in their prime.
The age at which children carry knives is getting lower because they lack faith in the system to
keep them safe, clearly the society has failed them. This is a very heartbreaking situation because
children are missing out of their childhood; they should never have to carry weapons to feel safe;
they should never have to live in fear of whether or not they would be the next victim.
In every dead teenager is lost hope, lost dreams, and a lost future that can never be regained. We
lose a part of our tomorrow in every dead teenager, we lose a main player of the future, we lose a
potential future leader, and we lose a part of the whole.
This report aims to highlight facts that have been established by research on the knife crime from
three different perspectives; the parents, the youth and the general public. It would bring to light
the possible root causes of the knife crime and its effects. It would also make fact based
recommendations that would help in taking preventive and corrective actions and also formulate
policies that would make a difference in our society and bring the knife crime epidemic to an
end.

11. 11
2.0 SECTION 2
2.1 BACKGROUND – KNIFE CRIME
The knife crime has been growing gradually since the year 97/98. There was an increase of
31.68% between the year 97/98 and 02/03.The knife crime started to peak in 02/03 where the
total number of homicides by a sharp instrument stood at 266; there was a slight decline in this
figure between 03/04 and 05/06 but the crime rate using a sharp object increased again in 06/07
and 07/08 and later declined slightly in 08/09.
Figure 1: Homicide by apparent method of killing, England and Wales, 1997/08-2008/09
Apparent
Method
97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09
Sharp
Instrument
202 201 213 215 261 266 242 260 219 269 270 252
Source: (Parliament.uk, 2009).

12. 12
The majority of detailed data about knife possession relates to young people, in the form of self-
report surveys. The Youth Justice Board's 2008 MORI Youth Survey found that 31% of 11-16
year olds in mainstream education surveyed reported having carried a weapon in the previous 12
months: the two most common weapons reported were a penknife (17%) and a BB gun, a type of
airgun that fires small pellets (15%). 61% of excluded young people admitted to carrying a
weapon, including 54% who admitted to carrying a knife (Parliament.UK, 2009). These figures
are a source of serious concern.
Despite these disturbing figures, the wrong message is still being sent on the knife crime. The
maximum term was doubled to four years in February 2007 but has barely been used despite a
string of high-profile stabbings and public fears over the dangers of knives. No-one was jailed
for the maximum term in 2007 despite the fact that homicide by a sharp object increased
significantly in the years to 07/08.
Figure for 08/09was retrieved from the home office statistical bulletin; Crime in England and Wales 2008/2009
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Homicide by sharp instrument
Homicide by sharp
instrument

13. 13
FACT BOX (Parliament.UK, 2009)
 31% of 11-16 year olds in mainstream education surveyed reported having carried a
weapon in the previous 12 months
 The age at which children are carrying knives is getting lower
 The number of convictions for carrying a knife between 1997 and 2006 has risen from
3,360 to 6,314.
 Arrests for having an article with a blade or point on school premises has increased by
500% over six years from 1999 to 2005
FACT BOX (Davenport, 2010)
 More than half (56%) of young offenders sentenced by the courts are convicted again
within a year.
 Offending by all young people cost the economy between £8.5 billion and £11 billion
last year
FACT BOX (BBC News, 2009)
 In the year to September, one defendant out of more than 3,700 caught with a knife in
England and Wales was given the four-year sentence
 Figures reveal that of the 3,713 people sent to prison for carrying a knife, more than half
were jailed for three months or less
 Only one in six received a jail sentence of more than six months.

14. 14
3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A qualitative method of research was adopted.
PRIMARY RESEARCH
Data was collected by engaging with parents, youth and members of the general public to
get their ideas and thoughts on the knife crime; people were engaged with at local
churches, youth events, on buses, trains and in the office.
QUESTIONNAIRES
Questionnaires were distributed to parents, youth and the general public through various
means. Paper questionnaires were available to be filled and online questionnaires were
also made available on the website to be filled by people in different locations in the
United Kingdom.
SECONDARY RESEARCH
Secondary research was also carried out using information from newspapers, internet,
articles, reports, and other news sources.

15. 15
4.0 ANALYSIS
4.1 ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS
This section would analyse the responses received from the respondents and would be
analysed from three perspectives; the parents, the youth and the general public.
For the purpose of this section, the following definitions apply. Parents are defined as
people who have children; youth refers to children between the ages of 13 and 24; the
general public is defined as all other people that do not fall under the last two categories.
4.1.1 THE PARENTS
The knife crime situation in our society is a social ill that is completely unacceptable
according to the parents that filled the survey; most of whom believe that absence of
discipline, poor parenting and peer pressure are the major reasons why teenagers turn to
crime. None of the parents were of the opinion that money is one of the major reasons
why teenagers turn to crime.
Parents who know families that have been affected by the knife crime mentioned how the
loss of an only child left a parent feeling lonely and unhappy and also how after about
2years of a child’s death, the parents and siblings are still not comfortable and have still
not fully recovered from the loss while parents who did not know families that had been
affected by the knife crime shared their opinion of how they thought that the death of a
child through the knife crime would have devastating effects: it will be a very painful

16. 16
and life-changing accident which would have its emotional, psychological and physical
effects on the family especially if not well managed.
A 100% of the parents were of the opinion that their children would never join a gang;
They are of this opinion because they believe that they have given their children a proper
foundation and have made them aware of the negative consequences of joining gangs,
others believe that as parents, they have brought their children up with Christian values
through the grace of God and have also educated their children on compliance with the
laws and regulations and how to be morally upright in life and totally avoid bad people,
gangs and their crimes. The parents also talked about the fact that they make themselves
easily approachable to their children, have regular talks with them to advise and guide
them.
These parents believe in the need to discipline their children and help them
distinguish between right and wrong from an early age.
All the parents that took the survey do not leave the discipline of their children to their
teachers; they believe that family is the primary level of socialization and the foundation
of ethics and morals; they believe that it is a joint responsibility of both the parents
and teachers to discipline their children while recognizing that the ultimate
responsibility lies with them as parents.
Increased discipline at home and in schools, strong family values, teaching the love
of God in schools, teaching the consequences of violence and also teaching obedience
and respect to the laws and regulations are some of the ways parents feel that the
knife crime can be reduced or eliminated.

17. 17
4.1.2 THE YOUTH
The youth of today are being made to grow up much faster than they should. A majority
of the teenagers are of the opinion that the knife crime situation is totally unacceptable
and not just another social ill that would go away.
Teenagers believe that money, peer pressure, poor parenting and absence of discipline are
major reasons why teenagers turn to crime.
One of the teenagers mentioned that a friend got involved and became a victim of the
knife crime by being amongst the gang culture and indulging in their lifestyle.
Some teenagers are of the opinion that having a good relationship with their parents
would help because they believe that parenting is the cradle of learning and if their
parents lay a good foundation then the teenagers would not misbehave while others
believe that getting involved in the knife crime is an individual decision that one chooses
thus being from a good background and managing a good relationship with their parents
does not necessarily help the situation.
Teenagers are of the opinion that to a certain extent, teachers can through their position,
help with the knife crime situation by acting as role models and providing help where
needed emotionally as well as academically; but they are also aware that the extent to
which the teachers can help is limited to the extent to which the students relate with their
teachers.
Even the teenagers agree that instilling proper discipline is one way of parents preventing
children from carrying weapons. Other ways include keeping a close watch, on who the

18. 18
teenagers hang out with, and also ensuring that they know what is happening with their
children emotionally, socially and academically.
The youth are calling for the Government to penalise guilty acts, to create jobs for
the unemployed and educate the uneducated, to keep the youth busy and help them
to build a strong sense of identity. They also believe that the church also has a major
part to play in eradicating the knife crime culture through mentoring, counselling
and prayers.
4.1.3 GENERAL PUBLIC
Members of the public are more of the opinion that the causes of the knife crime are not
limited to a single factor but an accumulation of various factors. Of the various factors,
they believe that peer pressure is a high ranking cause, followed by poor parenting,
absence of discipline and money. Some members of the public are also of the opinion that
idleness, lack of proper education and a decline in societal values are also reasons why
teenagers turn to a life of crime.
Both people who knew families that had been affected by the knife crime and those who
didn’t were unanimous in their decision that losing a child to knife crime had devastating
effects on the families involved leaving emotional and psychological scars making it
difficult for such families to resume normal life.
The people are strongly of the opinion that they have a responsibility towards the society
as they recognize that they are part of a society and need to give back to that society
which includes helping those around them. Despite this, a majority of them said they
would not intervene if they witnessed a youth being abused because of the fear of

19. 19
becoming victims themselves and also the thought that intervening would be looked at by
society as taking laws into their own hands.
The ones who said they would intervene said they would do it because they cannot stand
injustice and would want to stand up for the vulnerable. People are more comfortable
reporting such crimes to the police to deal with. More people are willing to report
suspicious gang activities in the neighbours’ homes to make their neighbourhood a safer
place.
Members of the public had a number of great ideas as to how the knife crime can be
eliminated and it includes tougher sentences for people caught carrying knives,
increase awareness of the dangers of knife crime, laws allowing parents to discipline
their children, all police institutions working together, regenerating family values,
tackling knife crime from its roots, better parenting with greater supervision over
their children, social responsibility, youth curfews to curb antisocial behaviour,
engaging teenagers in community projects, letting teenagers know the impact and
effects of stabbing other people, by praying for the children, and also getting
adequate support from Government on the knife crime.

20. 20
5.1 CONCLUSION
Based on the above analysis, I can conclude that children are not born bad but are simply
a product of the society in which they find themselves. Contrary to the believe that all
knife crime perpetrators are knife wielding thugs who have always been bad, most
teenagers involved in such crimes are individuals who have been led into a life of crime
due to issues like the absence of discipline, poor parenting, absence of strong family
values, absence of a good role model, peer pressure, money, the need for an identity, high
rate of crime in their neighbourhood and the need for safety and protection. Unlike the
parents, the teenagers are aware that money amongst other things is one of the major
reasons why youth turn to a life of crime. Children are usually enticed into groups by the
promise to give them security in form of money and safety from other gangs.
Getting into a life of crime is one thing but their decision to stay in that life of crime is a
completely different situation. Some of these teenagers want to get out of that life of
crime but are too scared of what might befall them, they are of the opinion that the police
does not do enough to protect them and also the fact that they don’t know any better way
of life and they is no one to teach them or listen to them. The fact that some of the
teenagers are crying out for help should be enough push for us to take a stand against
knife crime and the gang culture in the UK.
Despite members of the public admitting that they feel they have a social responsibility to
the society and know that tackling the knife crime problem would require a joint effort
between the Government and the general public as a whole, a majority of them would not
intervene if they witness a youth being abused.

21. 21
The Government cannot effectively tackle this problem alone as they do not have
sufficient information on the local communities and what happens there to deal with the
problems. The solutions to the knife crime epidemic are not generic ones; it requires
applying a tailor made approach to the different communities based on their different
circumstances and needs.

22. 22
5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS
This report aims to make recommendations under two main categories; preventive and
corrective actions. The preventive actions aim to focus on reaching the teenagers before
they get into a life of crime and the corrective actions aim to help ensure that teenagers
are made to understand the enormity of their actions, the subsequent consequences of
their actions and the effect on their victims, families and society. The corrective actions
also aim to create a system through mentoring schemes whereby the chances of the
teenagers returning to a life of crime are greatly reduced.
5.2.1 PREVENTIVE ACTIONS
STRENGHTENING FAMILY VALUES: The importance of a close knit family unit
cannot be overemphasised in helping to reduce the knife crime. The Government should
stop encouraging broken families; male teenagers with father figure role models to
look up to are less likely to be involved in such crimes as they have a good example
to follow.
A strong family unit also helps to ensure that children receive the necessary support they need in
their everyday lives and are better able to share their daily experiences with loved ones
who can be of help. A child who comes from a close knit family is also more likely to
think twice before he pulls out a knife to take another life as he would be aware of what a
devastating effect it would have on the family.
Recommendation 1
Strengthening family values; enhancing the value of a close knit family unit and
effective parenting.

23. 23
The family unit is also where children start to learn the difference between right and
wrong. Parents need to begin to adopt a firmer approach in the upbringing of their
children; as parents, they are responsible for their children and their actions. Children are
not born bad but when left uncorrected for a long time, they begin to lose a sense of the
difference between wrong and right. Parents are completely responsible for their
parenting duties and should also be held responsible when their children are caught
carrying out crimes. Parents should also learn to listen to their teenagers more and not
shut them out.
According to the metro newspaper on the 29th
of March, pupils as young as five
carry out attacks on their teachers. Teachers live in fear of their students, parents
should be held responsible for their children’s behaviour.
IMPROVE METHOD OF GATHERING DATA AND REPORTING INFORMATION:
The method of gathering data on knife crime should be all inclusive and take note of the
decreasing age at which children are currently carrying knives. All statistics should
involve crime relating to young people between the ages of 10-15 and 15 and above. The
statistics also need to take into consideration the fact that a majority of the young people
that fall victim to such crimes or are directly involved do not report the crimes for various
Recommendation 2
Increase age range covered in the process of collecting data on knife crime
Easily accessible and confidential youth centres for reporting crime

24. 24
reasons; these include fear of being called a snitch, death threats being made to their
families and fear for their own lives.
Easily accessible and confidential youth centres should be open in all Boroughs to allow
people that have been directly involved in such crimes report the crimes without fear of
being found out or killed as a result of their bravery.
METHOD OF TACKLING THE KNIFE CRIME: Knife crime is a general crime
among teenagers in the UK but the causes and the symptoms vary according to the
different Boroughs or areas. For example, a teenager living in Peckham might have a
different reason for carrying a knife than a teenager living in Wimbledon; also the level
of violence that is seen or faced by these individuals would vary. It is therefore
imperative that a general method is not adopted all around the country in tackling knife
crime, each Borough or area should be investigated thoroughly as a stand – alone case in
choosing methods of tackling knife crime.
The Government would need to set-up schemes that would fully support youth
organizations that are working locally to help tackle the problem of knife crime.
Recommendation 3
Tackling knife crime based on experiences in different areas and not adopting a
general method in fighting crime
Government support schemes for local youth organizations

25. 25
MAKING AND IMPLEMENTING LAWS THAT INHIBIT KNIFE CRIME:
Lawmakers have an important duty to pass into action, laws targeted at preventing knife
crime. The police officers only have the power to carry out actions that are legally
acceptable by law. It is very important that our lawmakers are equally inspired to fight
against the knife culture in Britain.
The law needs to give parents back the right to discipline their children from a young age
and bring them up in the right way. Parents should not have to live in fear to discipline
their children if the need arises. Teachers should also be given the power to correct
children that behave in a disruptive way when they are within the school premises.
The societal ills we are currently facing such as anti-social behaviour, early pregnancy,
violence, teenage murders, lack of respect, disregard for the lives of others, and
disruptiveness can be avoided if children are properly disciplined from an early age.
The bible says in Proverbs 13:24 “Whoever spares the rod hates their children,
but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them”
Recommendation 4
Laws that give power back to the police to effectively carry out their roles and
laws that give parents and teachers the right to discipline children from an early
age

26. 26
ENHANCING INFORMATION SHARING PROCESS BETWEEN STATUTORY
ORGANIZATIONS: The importance of timely and accurate information with regards to
the knife crime cannot be over-emphasized. A life can be saved if the right information
gets to the right quarters at the right time. Information sharing should be encouraged
between the social services department, youth workers, hospitals, knife crime
organizations, police, correction centres, neighbourhood police and other organizations
that might hold vital information that can be used in preventing crime.
This information sharing process would help ensure that teenagers do not slip through the
system; teenagers that need help can easily be identified and supported before they turn to
a life of crime.
NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICING: Every area should have an effective neighbourhood
policing team; they should be fully aware of what goes on in their neighbourhood
including anti-social behaviours and gang meeting areas or hiding areas. The
Recommendation 5
Enhancing information sharing among organizations to prevent teenagers from
slipping through the system
Recommendation 6
Effective neighbourhood policing
Police should put schemes in place to support neighbourhood policing

27. 27
neighbourhood police should always respond promptly to avoid fatal incidents. They
would need the full cooperation of the police and also need to be adequately resourced
for the job. The police should put schemes in place to support neighbourhood policing.
STOP & SEARCH: Stop and search should be encouraged if a police officer has good
reason to think an individual or a group might be carrying weapons; they should be
allowed to carry out a search. Random checks would keep teenagers in the awareness that
they can be searched at any point in time and get caught.
As it stands, teenagers carry these weapons and walk freely to commit pre-arranged
murders because they are of opinion that the police cannot randomly stop them to carry
out a search.
A stop and search policy would help save the lives of hundreds of teenagers who are
stabbed in pre-arranged fights where the perpetrators carry their weapons all the way to
their desired locations and sometimes even have to travel long distances on buses and
trains with the weapons to meet with their victims as was the case with Sofyen
Belamouadden who was fatally stabbed at the Victoria station in London.
Recommendation 7
A stop and search policy would help save the lives of hundreds of teenagers
killed in pre-arranged fights

28. 28
THE SOCIETY: In what society can a 15years old teenager be fatally stabbed in broad
day light in a busy station? This is a clear symptom of a broken society where respect for
life and the law is absent, where no one is willing to help a vulnerable individual, where
everyone is too busy to notice the next person. Our society is falling apart! We need to
stop, listen and take action!
RE-ORIENTATION OF YOUTHS: There needs to be a change in the current mindset
of the youth. They already have a pre-conceived mindset about the way things are and it
would be difficult to teach them anything new with their current mindset. The best way to
do this effectively would be to include this as a national educational curriculum in both
the private and public schools to allow for this to reach all the youth in the UK, regardless
of their location.
Recommendation 8
Working to mend a broken society; caring about our society
Stop, listen and take action
Recommendation 9
Renew the mindset of the youth
Addressing such issues through the educational curriculum

29. 29
ENGAGE THE YOUTH
Engaging the teenagers in productive activities and exercises, youth camp meetings,
youth seminars, youth development workshops, summer camps, group community work
and other activities that would teach them how to be responsible, teach them respect,
keep them off the streets and also instil in them the self confidence they require to go out
into the world and not be easily swayed by the negative influence of other teenagers.
THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH:
The church plays an important role in our society today; the Government should work
closely with churches of all denominations to reduce knife crime. Churches can offer
locally; prayers, counselling, advisory and mentoring schemes targeted towards
teenagers.
Recommendation 10
Engaging the youth
Helping to create a strong sense of identity for the youth
Recommendation 11
The role of the church

30. 30
5.2.2 CORRECTIVE ACTIONS
EVERY ACTION HAS A CORRESPONDING CONSEQUENCE: Figures revealed
that of the 3,713 people sent to prison for carrying a knife, more than half were
jailed for three months or less, only one in six received a jail sentence of more than
six months (BBC News, 2009). Perpetrators of knife crime need to understand the fact
that there are consequences for every action; the consequence directly related to the
magnitude of the action.
Teenagers should never be given a slap on the wrist or a community service order for
taking another life; a clear message needs to be passed on to every teenager that they are
serious consequence for such crimes. The inability of the justice system to teach this
simple lesson to the teenagers means that they are passing the wrong message; the
teenagers begin to think “I can take a life and get a caution or community service order,
cool”.
It is also important to enlighten teenagers of the long term effect of their criminal record,
for example, not being able to get a respectable job in future.
Recommendation 1
Passing across the right message; every action has a corresponding consequence

31. 31
TOUGHER SENTENCING: In the year to September, one defendant out of more than
3,700 caught with a knife in England and Wales was given the four-year sentence (BBC,
2009). This is not justice for the victims of the knife crime. A zero tolerance policy should
be adopted for destructive anti-social behaviour:
 Jail terms should be increased according to crime committed
 Prisons should be made less comfortable so that people do not see it as a holiday
away from school
 A policy of hard work, respect and responsibility should be introduced in prisons
were offenders are given daily tasks that they are individually responsible for;
they should also be made to carry out certain tasks in teams to teach them how to
work effectively with other people to achieve objectives without getting into a
scuffle or result in one party pulling out a knife.
 More prisons should be built to eliminate the excuse of over-crowded prisons or
lack of prison space to house criminals.
Recommendation 2
A zero tolerance policy for perpetrators of knife crime
A system to induce responsibility, accountability and respect should be introduced
in prisons

32. 32
REHABILITION OF OFFENDERS: The knowledge that no child was born a
murderer helps us believe that there is an opportunity for offenders to be restored to a
useful place in the society and not go back to a life of crime once they are released from
prison. The prison system should develop a centre where the character and reputation of
these youth can gradually be re-established through mentoring programmes, counselling
schemes, and advisory services dedicated to making them good members of the society.
This sort of centres would not only reduce repeat crimes but would also lead to previous
offenders becoming future mentors for other teenagers that are heading down the same
road.
According to the National Audit Office (NAO), offending by all young people cost
the economy between £8.5 billion and £11 billion last year, more than half (56%) of
young offenders sentenced by the courts are convicted again within a year,
compared to 40% of adults (Davenport, 2010).
Recommendation 3
Rehabilitation of offenders during their time away in prison to reduce repeat
offenders
Restored ex-offenders becoming mentors to other teenagers

33. 33
SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR VICTIMS AND FAMILIES: There are so many victims
involved in the knife crime epidemic; the actual victims who were physically hurt in the
attack, the families of the victims (both nuclear and extended), the friends of the victim
and the society.
It is important to ensure that these people are not neglected and are given all the
necessary support in form of counselling and advice.
Recommendation 4
Support for victims and families of victims
Local counselling and advisory units for victims

34. 34
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BBC News. (2009, MAY 28). Retrieved December 15, 2010, from BBC News website:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8071265.stm
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