Government guidance for child knife possession offences
On 12 February 2026, the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice jointly published new guidance for child knife possession offences. The guidance applies to all police forces and Youth Justice Services (YJS) across England and Wales with ‘an ambitious but essential target: to halve knife crime over this decade.’
Although the guidance makes no change to the criteria by which the decision of whether to charge or offer an Out of Court Resolution, it specifies that all children found with a knife in public should receive a “mandatory intervention plan” – achieved via the specified outcomes of Outcome 20, Deferred Prosecution, Youth Conditional Caution or a charge. The guidance says other OOCRs should not be used in relation to knife offences.
Details
The guidance establishes a specific staged process:
- Police should alert the YJS within one working day of a child being found in public in possession of a knife. YJS should begin working with a child no longer than 4 weeks after referral.
- The YJS must make a judgement of the child’s needs on a case-by-case basis, considering their circumstances, risks and any safeguarding concerns (including extra-familial harm such as trafficking, criminal exploitation and serious violence).
- Where an Out of Court Resolution is deemed to be appropriate, the child must be offered a Deferred Prosecution or Youth Conditional Caution, though the option remains to give an Outcome 20, in “rare circumstances” (see below for more detail)
- Police and YJS should establish Scrutiny Panels for knife possession offences, these should meet quarterly (para 60). The scrutiny panels should review the outcomes agreed upon and identify and monitor improvements.
- Youth Justice Service Management Boards should ensure oversight of the quality and effectiveness of interventions delivered.
The guidance also sets out some core principles;
Work should be undertaken with a ‘child-centred approach’ and consider safeguarding concerns. Police should complete a safeguarding referral and share all relevant information about the child so YJS can make a thorough assessment. (para 16, 17)Every case should result in a ‘mandatory intervention plan’ to ensure ‘public protection’.
Knife possession offences may be appropriate for an Out of Court Resolution (para 35) but youth cautions (Outcome 2) or community resolutions (Outcome 8) are not considered appropriate. Outcomes should be one of the following:
- Outcome 20 - In rare cases and where there is no public safety risk the child can be referred to another agency and matters may be closed. It would be appropriate to use Outcome 20 ‘where there is thought to be no potential risk to public safety’ (paragraph 8)
- Deferred Prosecution, under Outcome 22 – will be appropriate where it is not proportionate to criminalise a child for knife possession and the child would benefit from structured support aimed at addressing the underlying causes of their offending behaviour and avoid prosecution upon completion.
YJLC is aware through its advice line that a number of police areas have not yet introduced deferred prosecution schemes, the guidance states ‘The Government expects all police forces to ensure Deferred Prosecution is available for child knife possession offences to ensure there is a non-criminal outcome available for select cases where criminalization may not be appropriate”.
The guidance also states that changes will be made to the Home Office’s recording of crime outcomes to ensure police forces are recognised for their work and positive action taken to divert and prevent the child from being drawn into further criminality.
- Youth Conditional Caution – The guidance states ‘it is expected that the majority of Out of Court Resolutions where a knife is involved will result in a Youth Conditional Caution’ where the child would benefit from structured support aimed at addressing the underlying causes of their offending behaviour.
- Charge – is appropriate if the gravity of the offence means a charge should be pursued in line with existing guidelines.
‘When undertaking a decision as to whether to charge a child for a knife possession offence, the police should seek the view of the Youth Justice Service, and authority from the Crown Prosecution Service as appropriate.’ (para 20) ‘If seeking a charging decision from a prosecutor, a Child Information Form should be completed by the police and submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service.’ (para 34)
The decision on which outcome is most appropriate must be based on consideration of the full context of the offence, including the child’s age and level of maturity. The guidance is clear that the decision is to be made by the YJS “informed by all relevant information available to the Youth Justice Service, including information owned by relevant partner agencies, e.g. Children’s Social Care, Education and Health.” (para 5). Decision making should occur on a weekly basis (para 6) and YJS support should be mandatory and evidence based ‘to prevent re-offending’. As already exists, failing to comply with the conditions of deferred prosecution or youth conditional caution may lead to prosecution for the original offence, therefore compliance with conditions must be monitored. Where the child breaches conditions in their intervention plan, action should be taken. This includes charging the child for the original offence.
Where an Out of Court Resolution will be issued, the police should use the National Police Chiefs’ Council Child Gravity Matrix and consider any aggravating or mitigating factors and consult with the Youth Justice Service to decide which OOCR is most appropriate (para 23).
Commentary
YJLC welcomes the emphasis in this guidance on earlier intervention, prevention and supportive responses for children found carrying knives.
Youth Justice Service practitioners will have to adapt to the new guidance, assessing children quickly and ensuring that children deemed suitable for an Out of Court Resolution following a joint decision-making panel are offered one of the three proscribed resolutions: Outcome 20, deferred prosecution or a Youth Conditional Caution.
All youth justice practitioners should however note that no change has been made to the overall decision of whether an Out of Court Resolution should be offered; this decision remains subject to the framework set out in the Child Gravity Matrix and the NPCC Guidelines on the Cautioning and Charging of Knife Crime Offences
It is also a significant and positive development that outcome 22 deferred prosecution will be rolled out across the country, and will become a positive police outcome. This could remove some barriers to its usage and result in less of a ‘postcode lottery’ across different areas of the country.