Youth violence in England and Wales

1. Youth violence in England and Wales Enver Solomon Deputy Director Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, King’s College, London

2. My Focus • The scale and nature of violent youth crime – knives, guns and ‘gangs’ • Government responses and strategies of the last 2/3 years • Key themes and lessons

3. Self reported violent victimsation: the full picture? • In 2006, 17% of 10- to 25-year-olds said they had experienced an assault • 3% of young people (10-25) reported carrying a knife in last 12 months, the majority (85%) said was for protection • Only 3% reported using the knife to threaten or injure • Since 2002 these figures have remained stable • But this data does not reflect the rise in high profile urban violence involing knives amongst youths in deprived inner city areas • Under-reporting is thought to be significant

4. Youth knife crime • In 2008 there were 270 fatal stabbings, highest for 30 years but stable in last 6 years • Concentration in deprived inner city urban areas - high on multiple- deprivation index • Last year in London 28 teenagers were stabbed to death, one more than in 2007 • Police report that the age of perpetrators and victims of violent street crime involving weapons has declined from the mid twenties to late teens to the late teens to mid/early teens • July 2008, London police said ‘knife crime’ had overtaken terrorism as No 1 priority • Hospital admissions for knife wounds increased by 20% between 2003 and 2007, they increased by more than 62% for children under 16

5. Youth gun violence – not as big a challenge • 53 firearm homicides in 2007/08 compared to 59 in 2006/07 – has been downward trend since 2000 • Serious firearm injuries have also declined in last three years after significantly increasing • Gun crime is relatively rare and concentrated in a number of cities well-known for deeper social and economic problems, social conflicts and accumulated disadvantage. • Some evidence that younger people are becoming involved with firearms e.g. in London 25% of offenders charged with gun-enabled crimes in 2005/06 were aged 17 and under

6. Youth ‘gangs’ – a sketchy picture • Defining gangs is problematic - there is evidence of the ‘over-definition’ of youth peer groups as gangs. • Government says gangs pose a problem in ‘some neighbourhoods within a few cities, but the scale of the problem is far removed from the experience in United States’. • In London police say there are 171 ‘gangs’ • In one London borough research found between 600 and 700 young people estimated to be directly gang- involved • Average age of gang members in the government’s profile was around 19 to 22 years • Lack of accurate, reliable data and compelling evidence

7. Government response and strategies: • Violent Crime Action Plan 2008-11: sets key 3 year target to reduce serious violence delivered through local partnerships • TGAP – Tackling gangs action plan focusing on ‘guns and gangs’ in four English cities • Knife crime action programme • Specialist police knife crime unit in London • Yots and Youth Crime Action Plan

8. TGAP Programme Our aim… …involves four elements Community Reassurance Multi-agency Working Communication Focusing on London, Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham, a reduction in serious violence, particularly involving the use of firearms, perpetrated by young people as part of gang-related activity 1.Funding enforcement activities in the four areas 2. A guide for local-authority practitioners 3. Recommendations on how agencies can work together to reduce the supply of illegal firearms 4. Policy recommendations for central government

9. Action plan on knives • Increased maximum sentence for possession of knife in a public place from 2 to 4 years • Increased age at which people can be sold a knife from 16 to 18 • Presumption of prosecution for possession for everybody 16 and over and for under 16s on second offence • Tough sentences – expectation of custodial sentence and intensive community work for offenders who get a non-custodial sentence (3x more likely to get custody c.f. 10 yrs ago) • Increase stop and search with use of mobile security arches and scanners • Home visits and letters to parents of young people whom intelligence suggests carry weapons • A national three year education and awareness raising campaign to challenge the ‘glamour’, fear and peer pressure of knife possession including advertising and workshops on the dangers of weapons

10. Youth Crime Action Plan • Builds on the work of multi agency youth offending teams to develop integrated youth services • ‘A triple track approach of enforcement and punishment where behaviour is unacceptable, non-negotiable support and challenge where it is most needed and better and earlier prevention.’ • ‘For this minority of young people who commit serious crime, our message is clear – your behaviour will not be tolerated and you can expect tough penalties.’

11. Key Themes • Locally driven delivery through local crime partnerships, CDRPs, and locally owned YOTs • Risk based approach • Enforcement trumping neighbourhood renewal/prevention – Home Office dominant • Attempt to rebalance towards greater early intervention for ‘at risk’ youth • Carrot and stick

12. Lessons • The need for good quality victimisation data • The trials and tribulations of partnerships • The central vs local balance • Who leads matters – centrally and locally • Resist the political/media enforcement rhetoric • Neighbourhood renewal as a crime prevention strategy (social structures matter) • Need for extra intensive neighbourhood interventions in some areas • Don`t ignore Scotland`s public health model

13. My contact e-mail:enver.solomon@kcl.ac.uk