28th May 2025
The Youth Justice Board (the “YJB”) has updated its Knife Crime Evidence and Insights Pack for 2025 (the “Pack”), using data provided by the Ministry of Justice. The Pack provides useful insights and recommendations that practitioners will find helpful to use as part of their work.
Details
The Pack notes various key statistical observations, including the following:
- children constitute approximately one sixth (17%) of knife crime offences;
- black and mixed ethnicity children are over-represented in knife crime offences:
- black children constitute 14% of knife crime offences, despite only comprising 6% of the general population;
- mixed ethnicity children constitute 10% of knife crime offences, despite only comprising 8% of the general population;
- over 99% of children convicted of knife crime offences are for possession alone (as opposed to using a knife to threaten or harm); and
- hospital admissions for assault with a sharp object is 46% higher than it was in 2013, albeit less than the peak in 2019.
The Pack also notes the varied and complex reasons why children might carry knives, including exploitation, fear and victimisation, to gain social status among their peers, and poverty and deprivation.
The Pack summarises the evidence base behind the effectiveness of different violent and knife crime reduction strategies. As a result, the YJB has put forward a number of recommendations of child-level programmes or strategies which are more effective than others:
- individualised decisions on outcomes, including pre-court diversion: assessments and interventions should accompany informal out of court disposals, particularly deferred prosecution, more readily than Youth Conditional Cautions or formal prosecution;
- reducing knife supply: the sale of knives online should be heavily regulated, and zombie knives should be outright banned; and
- place-based strategies: supporting families, neighbourhoods and communities where deprivation, social exclusion and increased crime are more prevalent, as a means of mitigating the conditions that sustain violence.
Conversely, the YJB notes that the following are less effective or may be harmful:
- imposing mandatory minimum sentences: formally drawing children into the criminal justice system only serves to increase crime in the long-term. These also have a disproportionate impact on Black boys, looked after children and children with neurodivergent conditions.
- expensive and unproven prevention and interventions, such as high-profile knife crime awareness programmes. There is evidence that these actually increase fear and, counterintuitively, contribute to why children carry knives.
Commentary
This Insights Pack is a useful resource for practitioners looking for evidence to use in their representations and reports. In particular, practitioners will note that it highlights pre-court diversion as being more effective than prosecution, and advises against the use of mandatory minimum sentences.
These recommendations are based on detailed examination of the evidence on effectiveness and are in line with the Child First approach endorsed by the major institutions of the Youth Justice System including the YJB, CPS, NPCC, MoJ and Sentencing Council.