Working together to prevent knife crime
Knife crime devastates lives, families, and communities. While Dorset thankfully experiences low levels of knife crime – we are one of the five forces with the lowest number of knife crime offences in the country - even one incident is one too many and that means our work must continue to robustly tackle these offences.
As your Police and Crime Commissioner, I remain utterly committed to working with Dorset Police, schools, community groups, and local and national partners to ensure we do everything possible to prevent knife crime, support young people to make positive choices, and protect our communities. This means a clear focus on prevention, education, and robust enforcement where necessary.
Today, I would like to introduce you to Dorset Police’s knife crime lead, Temporary Detective Superintendent Andy Bell who will update you on the steps being taken across Dorset — from targeted operations to new initiatives aimed at steering young people away from violence.
“When talking about how Dorset Police deals with knife crime, it is important to reiterate that Dorset continues to have relatively low levels of knife crime. This doesn't mean we're going to take our foot off the ball; there is no complacency from us in how we tackle these offences, and we have a real focus on preventing young people becoming involved in knife crime. One of the things we're doing well in Dorset is recognising the link between youths carrying knives and child exploitation and how that connects to urban street gangs. This is a key area of focus, identifying risks early and bringing in partners including social care, schools, education, and youth justice to divert people away from becoming involved in knife crime in the first place, which is the ultimate goal. Alongside this, Dorset Police’s Safer Schools and Communities Team and firearms officers delivers education in schools which includes our FAKE (Firearms and Knife Education) sessions, highlighting the risks of knife crime to young people. And thanks to support from the PCC, we also now have a focussed deterrence worker in place to help ensure high-risk individuals across Dorset are assessed and swift action is taken to ensure our communities are protected and individuals are diverted from potential criminality.
When it comes to how the public can help keep our knife crime rate low, I would say any information you can provide on knife carriers is important. People can report directly to us, through Dorset Police’s intelligence portal if it’s not an emergency situation and we share that information with partners. We know tackling knife crime is not something the police can solve alone; it really needs the experience and expertise of so many. This is where the focused deterrence role and strategy will ensure we can be even more effective in tackling violent crime and knife crime as it brings together agencies to change the behaviour of the young people through deterrents and support. This type of early intervention is essential and can include a number of measures working directly with that young person and their family. As part of this strategy the consequences of that person’s actions – including the punishment they could face - are also very clearly communicated. Our aim is not to criminalise a child at the first instance; but should warnings and targeted interventions not be successful, then action will be taken.
With our current focus on knife crime linked to youth gangs, we know exploitation and vulnerability play a significant part in this, as do influences on social media and pressure from peers. The good news is that because of the work we are doing, we are well placed to grip these issues quickly and effectively at an early stage. As part of this, we are also planning a lot of proactive activity, including an initiative which will be launched shortly called Fighting for Safer Streets which involves several partners, and will be a positive way to engage and create a legacy for young people.
The most important thing I would say to anyone concerned about a young person who could be carrying a knife, is to ask for help. Do not suffer alone, it’s important to act quickly because we know the kind of methods groups and gangs use, making it hard for children to resist. To parents, families and carers, I would ask do you know what your children are doing? Are you curious about their activity on their phone? Have they got stuff they’re hiding from you? Have they suddenly got a new pair of trainers or some new jeans? These are the kind of things to look out for especially when it comes to exploitation. If you’re seeing signs like these, get some advice, contact us, speak to the school, contact Crimestoppers anonymously - just ask for help. We are here to support, divert and keep people safe.”
Thanks to Temporary Detective Superintendent Bell for his valuable insight. I hope this shows that much work is happening, often unseen to the public, to keep our communities in Dorset safe. Alongside tools like the knife arch and knife wands I funded for Dorset Police, targeted national weeks such as Sceptre which raise awareness of knife crime, and the intensive focus of Dorset Police and our partners, together we can send a strong message that carrying a knife is never the answer.
David Sidwick
Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner
Helpful contacts
• Dorset Police intelligence portal: Tell us something you've seen or heard | Dorset Police
• Crimestoppers – 0800 555 111 or Crimestoppers
• Ben Kinsella Trust - http://www.benkinsella.org.uk
• Childline - 0800 11 11
• Victim Support Dorset - Dorset - Victim Support