Talking with young people or young adults about knives and weapons can be difficult, whether you are a parent, professional or a friend.
People may not want to talk about the subject as they might be worried that they will get into trouble, they are embarrassed, scared, or feel that carrying a knife makes them feel safer.
This page and downloadable resources are to help you prepare for a conversation with someone about whether they are carrying a knife, why they are doing this and what you can do if they are.
It’s important to remember that very few young people carry a knife, but it is always important to have conversations with young people on serious issues, to reassure them they are safe, that there are trusted adults they can talk to and where they can go for help.
You can watch our knife harm films here or keep reading to get to our downloadable resources:
If you are worried about knife harm and knife crime, either for your child, yourself of someone you know then we hope the following information and advice will help.
Knife crime is any crime involving a knife or a sharp or bladed object. This includes carrying a knife, owning a banned knife, threatening someone with a knife, trying to buy a knife if you are under 18, injuring or fatally wounding someone with a knife or intending to injure or harm someone with a knife.
The leaflets below will help you understand the signs and consequences. We need to educate our children that in reality very few people carry a knife and carrying a knife will not offer protection. In fact, it is more likely that doing so will lead to them being hurt or them hurting someone else.”
Download Our Resources:
The Violence and Vulnerability Unit brings together partners from across the County who all share the same goal of reducing the incidents of knife crime. We believe that the response to knife crime requires a multi-agency approach by working with education, health, local authorities, and probation services.
A key focus of the Violence and Vulnerability Unit is to help divert people who are involved in, or at risk of being involved in, knife and violent crime and into areas such as sports, education, volunteering, rehabilitation.
Thankfully knife crime is falling across Essex but as well as preventative work we recognise the need to support victims and their families. At its worst, knife crime destroys lives; it affects families who have lost loved ones forever and one family losing a loved one is clearly one too many.
Therefore, our partners in Essex Police put significant effort into tackling knife crime through enforcement activity including ‘hotspot’ policing, intelligence gathering, using knife arches, and using additional powers such as dispersal orders and Section 60 powers, which are an extension of the stop-and-search activity which takes place every day.
Research shows that carrying a knife doesn’t offer protection, in fact it increases the likelihood that an individual might be stabbed. We hope this information supports people to make the positive decision to live knife-free, keeping themselves and those around them safe.
