The tragic and wasteful fatal stabbings of young people, particularly in cities such as London, has prompted a flurry of sensational headlines, an avalanche of political rhetoric, and even invited critical comments from President Donald Trump in a speech to the National Rifle Association in May 2018. Once again,all of this demonstrates a disconnect between the parallel worlds inhabited by politicians and the media and those in which disaffected underprivileged youths search for identity in contemporary society.
Glasgow, in Scotland, has had a long-standing history of gang culture. The city was even at one time branded as Europe’s murder capital by the World Health Organisation. In 2004/5 there were forty homicides in Glasgow, out of a total of 137 for the whole of Scotland. The Violence Reduction Unit was set up by Strathclyde Police in 2005 in response to the situation and gained some success in dealing with the problem. Since then, a Violence Reduction Unit has also been set up by the Mayor of London, with the support of the police, the probation service, local councils, schools and the NHS.
In 2009, the Violence Reduction Unit in Glasgow launched the Community Initiative to Reduce Violence (CRIV). This was inspired by the Group Violence Intervention (GVI) initiative that was developed in Boston, Massachusetts, during the 1990s by David Kennedy, a professor of criminology, to deal with gang violence in that city.
The GVI and CRIV initiatives employ a “public health” approach in an attempt to combat gang violence. Prevention is emphasised over a predominantly criminal justice approach to the problem. Preventive efforts are targeted at those at the highest risk of offending. Violence is treated as a “disease” and the causes are identified and addressed wherever possible. The police work in collaboration with teachers, social workers and health workers. An anti-violence message is combined with the mentoring of young people and the offer of practicable alternatives to a life of crime.
Stop and search powers for the police in England and Wales were curtailed after 2009 by Home Secretary Theresa May, primarily because of concerns over negative racial profiling that targeted young black men. These powers are now being restored as part of the immediate response to rising levels of knife crime. Much of this rise is being attributed to territorial disputes between knife-carrying gang members engaged in fighting turf wars, which are linked to the supply and distribution of recreational drugs. Other suggested criminal justice measures include providing additional security (such as metal detectors) at schools in affected areas, as well as tougher custodial sentences for offenders as a deterrent.
There is no easy answer to, and no quick fix for, knife crime in London and other metropolitan areas in the UK. Years of social deprivation, family breakdown, the establishment of inner-city ghettos with poor housing and educational facilities, and a pervasive lack of opportunities have created an underclass and a subculture with its own set of values and ideals that is in a state of conflict with society at large.
The problem of knife crime will not be solved solely through a series of short-term, reactive and poorly thought-out knee-jerk responses, many of which have already been tried out in the past. Lasting solutions will require social and economic inequalities to be addressed. This seems an unlikely prospect in an increasingly unequal world.
Damage limitation and harm reduction remain immediate priorities. Increased community policing in areas where knife-carrying is widespread seems to be a good first step. Breaking down barriers between local youth and law enforcement is essential to disrupt the trend of increasing knife crime. In the longer term, it is important to recognise that education is empowering and that better access to educational facilities, positive activities after school (for example, in youth centres), and enhanced job opportunities are all made available.
Ashis Banerjee (have seen and treated victims of knife crime)