Personal Development theme EXTRA:
What is Knife Crime?
Knife crime, is any crime that involves a sharp or bladed instrument, and can include anything from a kitchen knife or piece of glass to a potato peeler or knitting needle.
Please view the YouTube clips below from the aunt of Daniel Fox, who was stabbed to death whilst on a night out in St Helens, also Rob Jackson, a surgeon at the Royal Liverpool Hospital who explained the impact that carrying a knife can have.
(Note the second video is only available on Youtube due to age restrictions, click the link to watch it on Youtube)
What counts as knife crime?
‘Knife crime’ is simply any crime that involves a knife.
This includes:
- carrying a knife or trying to buy one if you’re under 18
- threatening someone with a knife
- carrying a knife that is banned
- a murder where the victim was stabbed with a knife
- a robbery or burglary where the thieves carried a knife as a weapon
How can we stop this rise In knife crimes?
For the public to stand together might be the only way to help stop this rise in knife crimes. By reporting illegal weapons, you can perhaps save the life of someone on the street. People addicted to drugs should also be reported or even helped as they can recover from their addiction and perhaps even be saved before they have to fatally stab someone in a last gasp for some drug money. It is much easier to control the crime and we don’t recommend taking the law into your own hands. You should only report these crimes and keep the authorities alerted and helping you stop the violence.
The Liverpool picture
Knife crime in Merseyside is at its highest level in 10 years, with more than 900 serious incidents reported last year. Latest crime data from the Office of National Statistics reveals Merseyside Police recorded 985 serious crimes involving knives during the last year. This is up on the previous year, which saw 881 knife crimes recorded, and the highest total on record for figures going back to 2008/09.
Knife crime is not just an issue in London.
Liverpool has its own problem:
The Facts in numbers
- Knife crime affects many young people.
- The most common age to start carrying a knife is 14-17 years old.
- Possession of an offensive weapon on school premises is punishable by up to four years’ imprisonment and a fine.
- Most fatal stabbings involve a domestic kitchen knife.
- Over 80% of stab victims are male.
- Around half of attackers are drunk or under the influence of drugs when an attack takes place.
- Over 70% of stab victims know their attackers.
- Knives are used in 4 out of 10 murders involving young people in the UK.
- A third of children in the UK have been affected by gun and knife crime.
- Gang members are at the highest risk of being victims of crime.
Sharp Facts
- Possession of a knife carries a prison sentence of up to 4 years even if it’s not used.
- If you are caught with a knife it doesn’t matter if it was for your own protection or you were carrying it for someone else – you will be arrested and prosecuted. Self-protection is not a reasonable excuse for carrying an offensive weapon.
- The legal definition of an offensive weapon includes anything intended to be used to harm another person, like a sharpened comb. It’s also illegal to carry a ‘disguised knife’ – anything with a concealed blade or sharp point that’s made to look like an everyday object (like a pen, cigarette lighter or lipstick).
- Police can – and do – stop and search anyone they think is carrying a weapon.
- If you stab somebody and they die, you’ll face a life sentence and serve a minimum of 25 years.
- If you have a criminal record you might not be accepted into a college or university, get a job, or travel to some countries, like the USA, Canada or Australia.
What can happen if you are caught carrying a knife?
If you get caught up in knife crime, you’re not just going to get a slap on the wrists. It doesn’t matter if it’s for your own protection or if you are carrying a knife for someone else. Just carrying a knife can get you sent to prison for up to four years, even if you don’t use it.
The maximum penalty for an adult carrying a knife is 4 years in prison and an unlimited fine. You’ll get a prison sentence if you’re convicted of carrying a knife more than once.
Don’t be in the dark about knife crime!
Below is where you’ll learn the facts about knife crime in black and white. You’ll hear from someone who knows all the right answers for all the wrong reasons and find out just how sharp you are on knife crime. Watch, then share with others so they aren’t left in the dark either.
What are the consequences of carrying a knife?
What happens if you get caught with a knife?
What happens if you use a knife?
Training - Further information about knife crime for practitioners:
The Ben Kinsella Trust
Knife Crime – Schools Know the Facts -
Wirral Safeguarding Children Partnership
Be Fearless Against Knife Crime
