House of Commons - Knife Crime - Home Affairs Committee

Knife Crime - Home Affairs Committee Contents

3 Victims and offenders

The relationship between victim and offender

36. Most media coverage of knife crime focuses on stabbings that are gang-related or random stranger violence. In 2007/08, domestic knife violence constituted around 6% of all British Crime Survey violence, stranger knife violence constituted 4% and acquaintance knife violence 6%.[38] In terms of victims of serious knife injuries that present to hospital, Professor Brohi told us that "a very small proportion" of those seen at the Royal London Hospital are "innocent people walking down the street who are jumped on or stabbed" and only "a very small incidents of domestic violence crime lead to knife crime": they mainly related to "gang culture".[39]

37. Dr Golding argued that one reason for an increased focus on knife crime was a recent change in the nature of the problem: "the context is gangs and the prevalence of youth in a way that was never the case before."[40] Professor Brohi agreed, noting that trends in terms of stabbings resulting from "brawls in the street" have been constant since records began but:

38. The link between knives and street gangs varies by location, for example, in London and Glasgow there appears to be a strong link whereas in Birmingham and Manchester gangs are more associated with gun violence.[42] A complicating factor is that there is no clear definition of what comprises a gang. An anonymous witness from Merseyside told us:

Most offending by young people is group-related in some way; whether these groups can always be termed "gangs" is another matter.[44] The Youth Justice Board also told us while "street-based groups of young people who are involved in offending may often be armed", weapon-carrying "is by no means limited to groups."[45]

39. While there are clearly examples of serious street-gang-related violence in large cities, MyGeneration founder Shaun Bailey has argued that society should keep a perspective about gang culture and not afford members a special status they do not deserve. He believes that fears about so-called colour coding have been blown out of proportion: 'It does exist, but the wearing of a certain colour in a certain area is very unlikely to put you at risk … The gangs know who they are fighting with and who they are looking for … [Parents] should not be worrying that if their kid is from E12 and he goes into E1 he's finished. It isn't like that. There has been a certain amount of Hollywoodisation about gangs by the media."[46] This point was reiterated by one of the witnesses to our inquiry, Kirk Dawes of the West Midlands Mediation and Transformation Services:

40. A significant proportion of stabbings relate to brawling or domestic violence, but the rise in violent knife offences seen over the past few years is associated with street violence between groups of young people who share a territorial identity, often referred to as 'gangs'. While young people often offend in groups, there may be a tendency to overstate the phenomenon of streets gangs and a danger that categorising groups of young people in that way may glamorise street violence. Random stabbings of innocent bystanders remain extremely rare.

Geography

41. Not surprisingly, London has the greatest volume of 'most serious' knife crime (34% of the national total), although the rate of offending per head for London is similar to Greater Manchester and the West Midlands (9.7 per 10,000 population compared to 8.8 and 8.3 respectively). London also has a higher than average proportion of knife-enabled murders (50% in London against a national average of 3%).[48] The Youth Justice Board explained some of the reasons why:

Evidence from youth justice practitioners supports the widely held belief that knife crime is a far bigger problem in London than in other major cities. There are many reasons for this trend, not least of which are the size of the capital and the proportionally higher number of gangs or other groups. There is evidence to show that other factors contribute to the problem, including the large number of transport links into and around London and the sheer number of postcode areas which young people often associate themselves with. Both of these factors serve to create natural geographical boundaries and generate a greater sense of territorialism, which can result in young people arming themselves with knives when leaving their local area.[49]

The BBC's Mark Easton noted that of the 179 under-16s admitted to hospital with knife injuries in 2006/07, 40% were in London, whereas not one child in central and south-east England outside London was admitted.[50]

42. The 2008 MORI Youth Survey threw up some interesting results, finding that the highest incidence of weapon-carrying was in Wales and the North-East of England, at 35%.[51] This may be explained by the fact that the survey included legitimate reasons for possession. However, other evidence appeared to indicate that, although knife crime is predominantly an issue for large conurbations, it is also rising in other areas. For example, Policy Exchange found from research with youth offending teams (YOTs):

Dr Lecky presented hospital data showing there has been a rise of knife injuries in rural areas since the mid-nineties, albeit less steep than in urban areas:

Figure 5: Knife injuries as proportion of all serious injuries 1994-2008: Urban/rural divide[53]

43. Researchers at the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies have argued that "people living in poor neighbourhoods also stand a far greater chance of finding themselves at the wrong end of a knife", noting that, in addition to suffering a higher rate of violent victimisation in general, about 60% of murder victims in the poorest fifth of areas in Britain die from being cut with a knife or broken bottle or glass as opposed to 30% in the wealthiest areas.[54] The nature of knife crime can also vary across the country. The Youth Justice Board argued:

An example of this is the extent to which knife crime is associated with street violence.

Ethnicity

44. Patterns of knife offending and victimisation tend to reflect the ethnic composition of the local population rather than being linked to any particular culture(s). For example, Professor Brohi told us in relation to the Royal London Hospital, which is in East London, that:

Whereas we heard our at Leeds seminar that knife offenders in Manchester, for example, would be more likely to be white. This was supported by evidence from Assistant Chief Constable Crowther of the British Transport Police, in relation to knife-enabled robbery and assault.[57]

45. In terms of knife-carrying, the 2008 MORI Youth Survey found "no significant difference in terms of carrying a 'knife or 'gun' across ethnicity overall".[58] 11 MILLION found that young people from a black and minority ethnic background were more likely than their white counterparts to say that knife crime was a problem in their area, but the majority of current or former knife carriers were white.[59]

46. We asked specific questions about the relationship between knife-carrying and immigration, in light of evidence to our inquiry into Policing in the 21^st Century which indicated there could be higher levels of carrying amongst immigrants from Eastern Europe.[60] Dr Brohi noted that the Royal London Hospital does see evidence of knife use by organised criminal gangs originating from the Baltic states and Turkey, but "the rising demographic of youth crime tends to be related to the local population who are not really immigrants; they are British Asian, British black or in Manchester British white people."[61]

47. Violent knife crime is concentrated in the deprived areas of large cities. The nature of knife crime may vary between cities and is not always linked to street violence. While hospital data show a rise in the number of knife injuries sustained in rural areas since the mid-1990s, the trend does not mirror the rapid rise seen in urban areas since 2006 and incidence remains considerably lower than in urban areas. While some immigrants from countries where knife-carrying is socially acceptable may be more predisposed to carry knives, knife use is not linked to ethnicity but rather reflects the local demography.

Age

48. The largest proportion of offenders and victims affected by knife crime are those in their late teens and twenties. For example, the largest category of both offenders and victims in crimes recorded by the Metropolitan police is 18-29. This conforms with data for overall violent offences which show that more than 85% of violent offenders are between the ages of 16 and 29 and the risk of being a victim of violent crime is almost four times greater for young men aged 16-24. According to data supplied by the Trauma Audit Research Network, the median age of hospitalised victims is 27.8.[62]

49. However, a clear theme that emerged from our evidence was that knife-carrying and use is increasingly affecting children and younger teenagers. For example, between 2003 and 2007 hospital admissions for knife wounds increased by 62.7% for children under 16, from 110 to 179 (although more recently admissions of teenagers have fallen).[63] Dr Iain Brennan told us at our Bristol seminar that the median age of British Crime Survey victims has declined since 2004/05.[64] According to Dr Golding, "one of the issues reported to us is the increasing youth of some of the people who engage in this type of criminality."[65] Citing their then-most recent data, between April and August 2008, the Metropolitan Police told us that 24% of knife victims, 31% of knife-enabled offenders and 27% of knife possessors were under 18.[66] This trend was corroborated anecdotally, for example according to one anonymous witness giving evidence with The Prince's Trust:

50. We tried to establish the age at which young people were most likely to carry a knife. 11 MILLION's research (with 8-17 year olds) found that the majority of current or former knife carriers were aged between 15 and 17.[68] The 2008 MORI Youth Survey (of 11-16 year olds) reported that 15-16 year olds were more likely to report having carried some kind of weapon than their younger counterparts, although the difference was not dramatic at 34% versus 30%.[69] The most common age at which the excluded pupils and young offenders interviewed for Why Carry a Weapon?, a piece of research carried out by Nicola Marfleet and published by the Howard League for Penal Reform, had carried a knife for the first time was 11.[70] We also heard instances of some really young children carrying knives:

Gender

51. Knife-enabled offences are predominantly perpetuated by males on other males. For the most serious cases that end up in hospital, Professor Brohi told us: "Ninety-five per cent of our knife patients are male. The only female patients are those who suffer from domestic violence. Therefore, this is really a male problem."[72] Data from other hospitals corroborates this evidence:

Figure 6: Penetrating Injury Audit: Stabbings by gender, July-December 2008 (Greater Manchester)[73]

Gender Frequency Percentage

Male 154 89.5

Female 18 10.5

Total 172 100

This mirrors overall violence trends: more than 85% of violent offenders are male.[74]

52. The 2008 MORI Youth Survey found that boys are predominantly more likely to admit to carrying a knife or gun than girls: 45% of boys compared with 16% of girls. The OCJS 2005 study had similar findings: 5% of boys versus 2% of girls. One anonymous witness told us that in his area of Merseyside girls do carry knives, though maybe for different reasons:

53. Males in their late teens and early twenties constitute the majority of perpetrators and victims of violent knife crime, which is consistent with other types of violent offending. However, the number of under-18s affected has risen. The age at which young people carry knives is also worrying: the incidence of carrying is highest amongst older teenagers, but we heard instances of carrying by children as young as seven. 11 seemed to be a key risk age for first carrying a knife, presumably linked to the transition from primary to secondary school. Boys are far more likely to carry a knife than girls.

Types of knives

54. The 2008 MORI Youth Survey found that the two most common weapons carried were a penknife (17%) and a BB gun (15%). The 2005 and 2006 Offending, Crime and Justice Surveys also found that penknives were carried more commonly than other knives:

Figure 7: Type of knife carried by 10-25 year olds in the last 12 months among those carrying knives, 2005 OCJS[76]

However, carrying a penknife is usually legal and cannot automatically be linked to sinister intent. 6% of knife-carriers reported carrying a flick knife and 4% a kitchen knife.[77] Speaking in reference to the police stop and search operation, Blunt, Dr Golding told us that kitchen knives only constitute "about 10%" of the knives that are used and found, whereas a significant proportion are flick knives and penknives. He noted that about 20% are described as "other", meaning other illegal weapons, sharp instruments, gravity knives and so forth.[78]

55. In terms of use to cause injuries, Dr Lecky presented Trauma Audit Research Network data indicating that kitchen knives were used most often:

Figure 8: Penetrating Injury Audit: Stabbing assault weapons used July-December 2008[79]

Weapon Total Percentage

Kitchen knife 59 34

Unidentified knives 37 21.5

Other 11 6.5

Flick knife 5 3

Glass 11 6.5

Penknife 2 1.2

Unidentified weapon 47 27.3

172 100

56. Hospital data analysed by the Trauma Audit Research Network indicates that the type of knife used to injure most frequently is the kitchen knife, probably because of its easy availability. However, young people tend to admit to carrying penknives, flick knives and other kinds of knives, which are also more commonly found by the police during stop and search operations. This may suggest that the knives used to cause serious injury may differ from those that are routinely carried. The MORI Youth Survey found that penknives were the most common weapon carried by young people, but to some extent this will be for legitimate purposes: only 1.2% of stab wounds recorded by TARN hospitals during the second half of 2008 were caused by penknives.

38 Knife crime statistics, Standard Note SN/SG/4304, House of Commons Library, March 2009, Table 3 Back

39 Qq 55, 58 Back

40 Q 9 Back

41 Q 53 Back

42 Q 414, Annex B [Leeds seminar notes] Back

43 Q 342 Back

44 Youth Justice Board, Groups, Gangs and Weapons, 2007, Summary, p 3 Back

45 Ev 121 Back

46 "Colour", The Times, 11 July 2008, T2, p 4 Back

47 Qq 406, 410 Back

48 Ev 134 [Mayor of London] Back

49 Ev 121 Back