Teens 'still fear knife crime'

By Jim Reed
Newsbeat reporter

Experiences of knife crime and gang culture

One in 10 teenagers in knife crime "hotspots" targeted by the government say they still have to carry a weapon to feel safe, a Newsbeat poll shows.

More than half of the people questioned said they are worried about other teens carrying a knife when they go out.

Fifty-three per cent surveyed said the government would not be able to reduce teen violence over the coming months.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson said: "It is going to take longer to change the culture of carrying knives."

Have Your Say: Should knife crime sentences be tougher?

Teen stabbings

The Home Office launched its £12m Tackling Knives Action Programme in June 2008 to crack down on offending in 10 key areas.

Police have been carrying out more stop and searches and extra cash has been used to pay for airport-style security arches and community schemes for young people.

Knife survey findings 25% know someone who has been a victim of knife crime 9% say they have to carry a weapon to feel safe 55% say they are worried about other teenagers carrying a knife 44% think the police are unable to protect them from violent crime 30% think longer sentences for people found carrying blades would reduce knife crime 49% say they would not report someone they know who carried a knife or gun 70% say it is easy or very easy to buy a knife

The survey questioned 500 people aged 13 to 19 in five of those hotspots - London, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Thames Valley.

A quarter of the teenagers surveyed said they knew someone who had been stabbed.

The majority said young people carry a knife not to commit a crime but for protection or respect from their friends.

Two thirds of all under-18s asked said it was either "very easy" or "fairly easy" to buy a knife.

The government has raised the age limit to buy a knife from 16 to 18 and asked the Trading Standards Institute to crack down on underage sales in hotspot areas.

When asked to name the "most effective" way of reducing knife crime, 30% of young people in hotspot areas said they wanted to see tougher sentences for carrying a weapon.

The latest figures from the Ministry of Justice show 6% of under-18s caught with a knife were sent straight to jail in the first three months of the year, up fractionally on the same period in 2008.

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Another 53% were given some form of community sentence like repairing property, clearing waste ground or refurbishing broken buildings.

Judges in hotspot areas also send young offenders on a knife crime prevention course to learn about the dangers of carrying weapons.

But once young people get to 18 they are much more likely to get an immediate jail sentence. About a quarter of adults caught with a blade in the first three months of the year went to prison for it.

Most teenagers polled agreed that stop and search can be effective but two thirds said that police are targeting the "wrong kind" of people. Only 4% said airport-style security gadgets are the best way of cutting knife and gun crime.

Johnson: Young 'at risk' if they carry knives

The home secretary told Newsbeat there are signs the government crackdown in hotspot areas is starting to have an effect.

Official figures show the number of people caught with a knife in those areas fell 8% in the first three months of the year.

Hospital data also suggests the number treated for stab wounds is going down.

"We've decided that we are going to run this programme longer than we planned to ensure we keep the pressure on," said Alan Johnson.

"We weren't expecting youngsters to start to feel more secure in eight months," he said.

"It's a difficult message and I think it's going to take longer to change those cultural aspects."

The Radio 1 Newsbeat / 1Xtra survey was conducted by polling company ComRes between 21 and 25 May.