Knife Crime is a Public Health Issue - ARM
Author: Adaeze Chikwe
This is the fourth of several pieces arising from the ARM 2019, explaining our positions on the debates which occurred there.
The Broad Left supported this motion which passed unanimously.
Knife crime is an ever-growing epidemic in the UK, withrates reaching record level during 2018. According to the Office for NationalStatistics, the number of killings due to knife crime in 2018 were 732, one ofthe highest rates ever recorded in the UK(1). Unfortunately, theresponse to this epidemic by both the government and the Home Office so far failsto combat the issue by only focusing on reactionary policing and criminalisation,rather than preventative measures.
The solution we see unsuccessfully rehashed year upon year bythe government is the use of ‘stop and search’, where pedestrians are stoppedby the police at random on the streets, often on the basis of preconceptionsand stereotypes about the race and gender of supposed perpetrators of knifecrime. According to the Home Office, black people are 40 times more likely thanwhite people to be stopped and searched(2). Official responses andrhetoric reinforce the ignorant and damaging stereotypes already placed on theheads of black people, such as that black people are criminals and more likelyto partake in violent behaviour.
Although stop and searches may be successful in theshort-term, this solution does nothing to stop offenders carrying knives on thestreet again at a later date, and instead increases the frustration and lack ofbelief in the police force from particular groups of people wrongly targetedfor stop and searches repeatedly.
Knife crime is a public health issue.
We recognise that to truly make a dent in this rising wallof knife crime, a more grassroots approach needs to be undertaken where organisationsand charities go directly into communities to find out why some people (oftenyoung adults) feel that carrying knives on the street is their only option, andintervene in the early stages before attacks can be carried out. Furthermore, theseorganisations have a variety of functions such as providing positive guidanceto young people who might not have had this guidance earlier on in life, providingfirst aid sessions that teach young people how to stem blood loss from a knifewound and helping young offenders find employment and further education whencoming out of prison to prevent them from re-offending.
The motion called on the BMA, as a trade union for doctors,to recognise the role that healthcare has to play in combatting knife crime.Instead of taking a no-questions-asked approach whilst treating victims ofknife crime and ushering them immediately out of the hospital doors oncetreated in order to free-up beds in our already over-stretched NHS, healthcareworkers need the training to be able to sign-post victims towards services thatcan break the cycle of violence that often leads to re-attendance.
Additionally, we need further implementation of youthworkers in trauma centres all around the country, such as those from theorganisation ‘Redthread’ that work side by side with clinicians in hospitals toengage victims of knife crime directly from their hospital beds. Organisationslike this take advantage of this time when victims are at their most vulnerableand reflective in order to have a greater effect and prevent re-attendance(3).
There is evidence that a grassroots approach to combattingknife crime is effective, as shown in Scotland. The Scottish ‘ViolenceReduction Unit’ (VRU) implemented a variety of programmes that aimed to educaterather than castigate both the victims of knife crime and those at risk of partakingin knife crime. They launched a mentorship project in schools designed toeducate young people about how to challenge offensive behaviour without usingviolence(4). The VRU have outreach teams in hospital emergency roomsto sign-post victims to services that can help them move on and rebuild theirlives regardless of their circumstances. As a result of the efforts of theseorganisations, there has been a 39% decrease in homicides over the last decade.
If Scotland can reduce their knife crime levels, we can absolutelydo the same in England and Wales.
Collectively bringing attention to this issue by promotingoutreach and grassroots services will enable those at risk of partaking inknife crime to see that these programmes are available. We need to continue topressure the government into prioritising the public health approach ratherthan rely solely on stop and searches. We can do this through the BMA and independently,by writing to MPs and starting petitions to have a greater proportion of moneyused to combat knife crime funnelled towards grassroots organisations andoutreach services. Furthermore, we can raise awareness that these services areavailable in our communities and invite grassroots organisations to schools andyouth clubs.
The knife crime epidemic, although experienced by few, needsto be acknowledged as a public health problem by all, whether you are from acommunity directly impacted by the effects of knife crime or not at all.
References:
- https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingdecember2018
- https://www.theguardian.com/law/2019/may/04/stop-and-search-new-row-racial-bias
- https://www.redthread.org.uk/what-we-do/#a&e
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-45572691