Knifes & Youth

Vivid stories of young people stabbing each other and of pupils bringing knives into school have attracted the attention of the media and of central policy makers in the recent past. Statistics released by hospital emergency rooms suggest that ‘youth knife crime’ reflects more than just a media phenomenon or a political catch phrase. The number of hospital stabbing admissions where the victims are under 18 years of age has doubled in the past five years [1]. In response to such figures a variety of measures have been initiated, aimed at tackling the emerging ‘knife crime’ and ‘knife culture’, seemingly without first acquiring a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon. Such measures include the introduction of metal detectors in schools, frequent ‘Stop and Search’ actions, and longer maximum sentences for possessing a bladed instrument (i.e. knife). This briefing has been prompted by the belief that Psychology (in particular its specialist areas of developmental, clinical,...