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How London is tackling knife crime differently
Knife crime in London is still a prevalent issue, which disproportionately affects the population of youth groups leading to the devastating loss of young lives.
What if the solution lies not within tougher policing but within a more effective prevention plan? This is where an innovative change is taking place in the form of London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU). Created in 2019 by Mayor Sadiq Khan, the London VRU transforms the focus of tackling knife crime from blame to understanding, from enforcement to prevention.43,44 London’s public health approach can inform future youth violence policy to facilitate positive change for future generations using VRUs.
From policing to public health
Current statistics on knife crime show trends stating that children aged 10-14 are making up a growing proportion of younger suspected offenders in violent crimes in London.45 There are a range of contributing factors which indicate whether young people will be likely to be involved in knife crime such as social deprivation, school exclusion, trauma, lack of opportunity and criminal exploitation. Since 2010, youth service budgets in England have been reduced by over 70%, removing safe spaces and positive outlets for young people and leading them to turn to street networks for belonging and protection.46,47 There are also severe limitations to traditional policing approaches which the use of VRUs aims to address. Historically, London’s strategy on knife crime relied heavily on enforcement and while these measures can disturb immediate threats, they often fail to address the symptoms of why youth violence occurs. Many young people in affected communities don’t trust the police- with data highlighting that Black people are far more likely to be stopped and searched- often without arrest, which creates resentment and alienation. For example, one study demonstrated that there were 24.5 ‘stop and searches’ per 1000 black people compared with 5.9 per 1000 white people.48 This pushes groups that need help the most, further away from support services due to fear of being criminalised. Studies have also shown that only 46% of Londoners believe the police do a good job locally, which is 10% lower than five years ago and down from 69% ten years ago49 A new report from Policy Exchange50 in December 2025 assesses the performance of the Metropolitan Police at the three-year point of Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley’s term of office. The report shows that public confidence in the Metropolitan Police has fallen further in the last three years, since the start of Sir Mark Rowley’s term as Commissioner – to an all-time low, since modern records began.
These policing systems tend to treat vulnerable young people as offenders rather than victims of larger powers at play- for instance a teenager exploited by a gang may be arrested rather than safeguarded. This can lead young people to feel like they have no way out of bad situations. Police enforcement is essential in protecting the public after a crime has been committed but fails to address the root of crimes through prevention work. The VRU’s approach is different. Influenced by Glasgow’s pioneering Violence Reduction Unit, which helped cut Scotland’s murder rate by half, London’s version treats violence as a public health problem.51 That means asking why it happens, not just who commits it. Lib Peck, Director of London’s VRU, has stated that the mission was set up to “learn from and apply the successful public health approach used in Glasgow and elsewhere to tackle violent crime and the underlying causes of violent crime”.52 It’s a philosophy grounded in prevention — supporting young people before they ever pick up a knife. VRUs seek to do what policing alone never could: stop the violence before it starts.
Inside London’s Violence Reduction Unit
VRU’s provide a multi-disciplinary approach by bringing together the police, local councils, schools, health services, youth organisations, and community leaders by focussing on early intervention, mentorship, and creating safer opportunities for young people. A key part of VRU’s work focuses on supporting young people who are particularly vulnerable to becoming involved in violence. This means funding education programmes, youth clubs and mentoring schemes. Initiatives like MyEnds empower communities in violence-affected neighbourhoods to create and lead their own solutions through projects such as peer mediation projects, mental health workshops and youth clubs.53 Leading from the public health model, the VRU draws from data analysis and research to understand patterns of violence and assess which interventions are most effective. For example, in London a VRU initiative placed youth workers in police custody suites and hospitals. As a result, 90% of 10–17-year-olds who have engaged in youth worker programmes after arrest of violent offences did not reoffend in the next 12 months. The scheme was reported to have helped around 800 children through custody-based youth work interventions.54,55 However, a limitation to this study is that a longer-term evaluation was absent. Also in London, youth work interventions are said to reduce risk of harm for young people involved in violence. For example, interventions by youth workers in hospitals and custody leads to “85% of young people supported’ and “no longer involved in gang activity” and an 83% reduction in their risk of harm/involvement in violence.56 The VRU initiative also works to support those affected by violent crimes such as the victims, with counselling services and opportunities in career and employment.
Building a network of prevention
The VRU’s can be best described as a web of partnerships across the city: youth clubs; -schools; health workers; community groups; police and social services, all working in unison.
For instance, the MyEnds programme funds local communities in areas most affected by violence to find their own solutions. One neighbourhood might focus on mentoring and apprenticeships and another might fund outreach workers to mediate and deescalate conflicts. The power lies in local people leading local solutions. An example is the Rescue and Response scheme which specialised in supporting young people that have been criminally exploited, for example though drug trafficking.57 By offering counselling, education and safe spaces for those affected it gives teenagers a chance to regain stability. This also occurs in schools where students at risk of exposure to violence are supported by mentors. Despite the value of this scheme, the funding has decreased by 50% from £1,849,689 in 2023/24 to £924,845 in 2024/25 due to the increasing strain on London’s public services caused by inflation.58
Lessons from Scotland: the blueprint behind London’s violence reduction unit
London’s VRU was directly inspired by Scotland’s success story. In 2005, Glasgow suffered from one of the highest murder rates in Europe.59 The Scottish VRU treated violence like an epidemic —utilising education, family support, and rehabilitation rather than focusing solely on retribution. This method proved to be highly effective with rates of homicide, knife-assaults and violence falling dramatically amongst young people. These results have been made clear in the Community Initiative to Reduce Violence programme: No Knives Better Lives. It was found that among gang-members involved, there was a 59% decrease in knife carrying, as opposed to a 19% decrease in similar areas without the programme. There was also an 85% decrease in weapons carrying.60 And a 70% decrease in knife-related assaults compared to rates from decades ago.61 London’s policymakers decided to implement this approach into their own strategy for tackling knife crime. Replicating this model was not simple due to London’s larger population, its diversity and complexity. However, the key lessons from Glasgow’s model were clear. Early intervention, community involvement and supportive relationships for young people is vital.
The policy shift: from blame to belonging
Through the ideas VRU’s follow, violence isn’t perceived as an individual incompetency, but a condition affected by the socio-economic climate. This challenges the idea that punishment alone can fix what are ultimately social failures. Regarding policy, the VRU’s strategy suggests a transition toward long-term solutions. It requires investment in youth services- many of which were cut and underfunded by austerity. It also promotes information sharing between schools, hospitals, and police to promote intervention for those at risk. Crucially, VRU’s insist on listening to young people themselves. As one teenage participant in the VRU-promoted youth project Young People’s Action Group stated: “At first… I broke out of my shell … Now … I was being the outspoken version of myself … My experiences in the YPAG … I look back and what we achieved has given me so much opportunity”.62
Keeping London’s young people safe: the fight for funding
Although the use of VRU’s across London have made a significant impact on preventing knife crime and providing support within communities, short-term grants threaten the likelihood of the current £9.4-million remaining consistent. This is due to national budget cuts covering a range of public needs. It has been shown that youth service budgets in England have been reduced by 73% since 2010.63 It is important that safe spaces and prevention plans are put in place for vulnerable young people as relevant statistics clearly state that the price of prevention is far less than the cost of policing, NHS costs, court proceedings and the cost of incarcerating the perpetrators of violent crimes. The Home Office has estimated that the average cost of a single homicide is an astounding £3.2 million.64 However, a violent crime where the victim is injured (but not killed) costs around £14,000 in health and justice spending.65 Furthermore, the mean hospital cost for a severe blunt trauma injury was stated to amount to £21,173 per patient.66 In regard to the perpetrators of knife-related crimes, the UK Government, HM Prison and Probation Service has announced that the price to keep one person in prison costs £50,000 annually.67
In 2024, 6,315 people received a custodial sentence for knife-related crimes, young people under the age of 18 making up 17% of this figure.68,69
In 2024, the total custodial population of children (under the age of 18) in England & Wales was around 440.70 The data is clear, compensating for knife-based crimes after they have already occurred can be extortionate.
For the price of incarcerating one young person, initiatives like youth groups and early intervention programmes could be funded for many young people. These include community sport initiatives, peer mediation in school and youth employment projects. Though the expenses designated to dealing with the aftermath of violent crimes are unavoidable once they have occurred, it does not mean that they are inevitable. With sufficient prevention plans in place using VRU’s, it is possible to divert a large amount of young people away from violence. Allocating expenses towards prevention isn’t just ethical, it is also cost-effective. This way we can build up our communities- not our prisons.
Further Reading
[43, 44] London Mayor and Greater London Authority, ‘About London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU)’ (London City Hall) https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/communities-and-social-justice/londons-violence-reduction-unit-vru/about-us
[45] Serious Violence in London- A report prepared for London’s VRU- April 2025
[46] Larkham, J and Ren, A, A long road to recovery: Local authority spending on early intervention children’s services 2010/11 to 2023/24 (PBE, 7 May 2025) https://pbe.co.uk/a-long-road-to-recover
[47] HM Inspectorate of Probation, ‘Children involved in urban street gangs’ (Evidence Base – Youth Justice, Specific sub-groups) https://hmiprobation.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/our-research/evidence-base-youth-justice/specific-sub-groups/children-involved-in-urban-street-gangs
[48] GOV UK, “Stop and search” (Ethnicity Facts and Figures) (published 3 July 2024) https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/crime-justice-and-the-law/policing/stop-and-search/latest
[49] Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), Draft Police and Crime Plan 2025-2029 (London City Hall) https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/mayors-office-policing-and-crime-mopac/keep-date-mopac-work/mopac-publications/draft-police-and-crime-plan-2025-2029
[51] Scottish Government, Violence Prevention Framework for Scotland: Annual Progress Report 2023–2024 (2024) https://www.gov.scot/publications/violence-prevention-framework-scotland-annual-progress-report-2023-2024/pages/2/
[52] Mayor of London, Lib Peck appointed to lead London’s new Violence Reduction Unit (14 January 2019) https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/lib-peck-to-lead-violence-reduction-unit
[53] London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), “MyEnds” programme (London City Hall) https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/communities-and-social-justice/londons-violence-reduction-unit-vru/our-programmes/myends
[54] Mayor’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), Mayor’s Violence Reduction Unit secures funding boost to deliver key youth work interventions driving down violence (London City Hall, 11 February 2025) https://www.london.gov.uk/media-centre/mayors-press-release/mayors-violence-reduction-unit-secures-funding-boost-to-deliver-key-youth-work-interventions-driving-down-violence
[55] The Guardian, Youth workers in London custody centres stop 90% reoffending, says report (4 June 2025) https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jun/04/youth-workers-in-london-custody-centres-stop-90-reoffending-says-report
[56] Mayor’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), Mayor’s Violence Reduction Unit secures funding boost to deliver key youth work interventions driving down violence (London City Hall, 11 February 2025) https://www.london.gov.uk/media-centre/mayors-press-release/mayors-violence-reduction-unit-secures-funding-boost-to-deliver-key-youth-work-interventions-driving-down-violence
[57] Brent Council, Rescue and Response (Brent Council) https://www.brent.gov.uk/nuisance-crime-and-community-safety/rescue-and-response
[58] London Assembly, Funding London’s emergency services – 2024-25 (London City Hall, 5 January 2024) https://www.london.gov.uk/who-we-are/what-london-assembly-does/london-assembly-press-releases/funding-londons-emergency-services-2024-25
[59] LSE British Politics and Policy, Changing patterns of violence in Glasgow and London: is there evidence of Scottish exceptionalism? (blog post, 17 December 2018) https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/patterns-of-violence-glasgow-london/
[60] No Knives Better Lives- https://www.noknivesbetterlives.com/peer-education/knife-facts/a-glasgow-success-story/
[61] YouthLink Scotland, ‘NEW 10 YEAR REPORT CELEBRATES SCOTLAND’S PREVENTION APPROACH TO KNIFE CRIME’ (media release, 19 June 2019) https://www.youthlink.scot/wp-content/uploads/nkbl10-year-release.pdf
[62] GLA (Greater London Authority), Leading change with the Young People’s Action Group (City Hall blog, 17 August 2022) https://www.london.gov.uk/city-hall-blog/leading-change-young-peoples-action-group
[63] CYP Now, ‘Council spending on youth services in England falls by 73% since 2010’ (29 January 2025) https://www.cypnow.co.uk/content/news/council-spending-on-youth-services-in-england-falls-by-73-since-2010
[64] Home Office, The economic and social costs of crime (2nd edn, July 2018) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-economic-and-social-costs-of-crime
[65] Home Office, The economic and social costs of crime (Second edition, July 2018) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5b684f22e5274a14f45342c9/the-economic-and-social-costs-of-crime-horr99.pdf
[66] Michael C Christensen and others, ‘Outcomes and costs of blunt trauma in England and Wales’ [2008] Critical Care12:R23 https://ccforum.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/cc6797
[67] House of Commons Library, UK prison population statistics (Research Briefing, SN04334, 08 July 2024) https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn04334/
[68] Ministry of Justice, Knife and Offensive Weapon Sentencing Statistics: October to December 2024 (GOV.UK, 15 May 2025) https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/knife-and-offensive-weapon-sentencing-statistics-2024/knife-and-offensive-weapon-sentencing-statistics-october-to-december-2024
[69] Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, Youth justice statistics: 2023 to 2024 (GOV.UK, 30 January 2025) https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/youth-justice-statistics-2023-to-2024/youth-justice-statistics-2023-to-2024
[70] Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, Youth justice statistics: 2023 to 2024 (GOV.UK, 30 January 2025) https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/youth-justice-statistics-2023-to-2024/youth-justice-statistics-2023-to-2024
