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In this section, I will explore how poverty and funding cuts can directly influence the increase of knife crime, especially amongst young people. Behind the rhetoric of statistics, there is a much bigger picture of influences leading to knife crime. These can be inequality, lack of opportunity, and underfunding within communities. When funding is cut for youth centres or after school clubs it can cause harm to the young people who use them, as these spaces offer guidance and a sense of belonging within communities. Furthermore, I will investigate the influence of poverty and deprivation, showing how these conditions can cause people to feel unsafe and increase knife carrying as an act of self-defence. By understanding how poverty and funding can connect to youth violence, this section will support the proposal that investing in young people can protect their futures and build togetherness within communities.
Poverty and funding cuts for deprived areas
Knife crime is often viewed as an individualised issue, where poor decision-making and bad influences have led a person down the wrong path, and whilst this may be true, it is also the case that there are myriad complex causes. Beneath every incident lies a web of deprivation and a lack of opportunities. Research presented in this section consistently shows that poverty and funding cuts create environments where young people are more exposed to violence and exploitation due to the loss of important safe spaces that promote positive activities.
BAME communities are the most affected with many concentrated in deprived areas where exclusion is most prevalent.1 These communities experience fewer opportunities, underfunded education and restricted access to youth clubs and recreation centres. These specific conditions increase exposure to crime and violence. Furthermore, poverty and youth violence link together due to structural imbalances, these can include high unemployment, poor housing, and lack of access to mental health care.2 This increases their risk of criminal exploitation or involvement in violence, including a higher risk of being recruited into gangs and displaying antisocial behaviour.3 Organisations such as Mind of My Own argue that early intervention is not only beneficial for saving money, but this approach also reduces the social and emotional costs of deprivation for young people.4
Whilst an early prevention focus may not stop all knife crime, it can help reduce the numbers and save children’s lives; this consists of more job opportunities, sports activities, and youth clubs, where people can socialise and make friends and youth workers can offer young people guidance to break the cycle of deprivation and violence.
First-hand accounts from people who have experienced knife crime
A report published on the website of the MP Chris Webb, on the 27th June 2025 focussed on the area and areas surrounding Blackpool and highlights the normalisation of carrying a knife amongst local young people. The report describes an event held by the organisation, Poverty Truth Network, where a 14-year-old girl described her experience with bullying and explained how it led to her carrying a knife and influenced her to join a gang for protection, as she spoke about being chased with a machete. One parent highlighted the failure of statutory services, stating, “More mums are telling us they feel like they’re the only ones protecting their children”. Two girls spoke of knife carrying being common in their area: “kids as young as 12 are carrying machetes and swords”, one said.5 These first-hand experiences reflect what’s happening in their communities, and in other areas across the United Kingdom right now. This also highlights how bullying, poverty, and lack of support systems lead these young people down unsafe paths. This provides further evidence that when schools, youth clubs, and local services are underfunded or shut down children have nowhere left to turn.
Facts and findings surrounding knife crime
The statistics surrounding knife crime in England starkly illustrate the extent of the problem. They show that out of 570 homicides in England and Wales in 2023/24, 262 were killing with a sharp instrument, including knives and broken bottles - that is 46%.6 As for hospital admissions, these figures are harder to interpret, as not every instance is reported and registered. However, the numbers for 2023/24 were 3,500 ‘hospital admissions’, this is a 10.4% decrease from the previous year. The records of reported offences involving a sharp instrument was around 53,000; this was 1.2% across all age groups, lower than the year before. However, it is important to consider unreported crimes, which may be exacerbated when crime occurs within gangs, as they are much less likely to report.
Prevention strategies
Through articulating the links between social and economic disadvantage and vulnerabilities to offending behaviour, the extent of the problem of knife crime, and its impact on communities, I have demonstrated how refocussing funding on prevention can benefit our whole society. The Youth Endowment Fund7, present various approaches to preventing knife crime, including how much the prevention schemes cost, as well as the impact that these initiatives can have on young people. One of the schemes with the highest impact for prevention are sports programmes for young people. These schemes can support positive development and peer support, as well as strengthening participants’ social skills and mental health. The research by the Youth Endowment Fund found that this type of prevention scheme can reduce aggression in children and promote their mental health. Whilst the Youth Endowment Fund does not yet provide a cost estimate for sport-based prevention initiatives, it is likely that such estimates will include facility and staffing costs.
Another prevention strategy that could have a significant impact on young people is focused deterrence. This approach combines clear communication about the consequences of knife crime with support for developing positive alternatives to gang involvement. Although the concept of focused deterrence may initially seem complex, it can be explained as identifying individuals who are most likely to become involved in knife-related crimes or gangs and providing targeted support to prevent this. These individuals often include those who have experienced exploitation during childhood. The impact of focused deterrence is considered high because it directly informs these individuals about the consequences of their actions while offering pathways away from crime.
However, due to its proven effectiveness, the cost of implementing focused deterrence is also relatively high. For example, across two locations, the average cost was approximately £1,850 per person. This high price point may lead the government to overlook the scheme despite its strong evidence base and potential for significant impact, viewing it primarily as an expensive intervention.
Further Reading
[1] Cunneen, C. (2019). Youth justice and racialization: Comparative reflections. Theoretical Criminology, 24(3), 521-539. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362480619889039 (Original work published 2020)
[2] Grimshaw & Ford, Young people, violence and knives 2018, issue 3, Uk justice policy review focus, https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk//sites/default/files/Knife%20crime.%20November.pdf, accessed 2nd `Dec.
[3] Franklin, J., Larkham, J., & Mansoor, M. (2023) The well-worn path: Children’s services spending 2010-11 to 2021-22. Pro Bono Economics, https://www.probonoeconomics.com/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=64274c2e-73c3-4364-b995-4b31b6825dd8, 20th Nov.
[4] https://mindofmyown.org.uk/cost-savings-from-early-intervention/
[5] Chris Webb, Teens Share their Shocking Experiences of Knife Crime, Chris Webb, https://www.chriswebb.org/news/teens-share-their-shocking-experiences-of-knife-crime,19th Nov.
[6] Grahame Allen, Helen Wong, Knife crime statistics England and Wales | 28th Oct 2025, https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn04304/,20th Nov.
[7] Youth Endowment fund, Focused deterrence | https://youthendowmentfund.org.uk/toolkit/focused-deterrence/, 8th Nov.
