Government "committed" to working with young people on knife crime
The comment from Number 10 comes after a Bristol campaigner suggested not enough young people are involved
Last updated 16th Jan 2025
A government spokesperson insists they are committed to working with young people on how to tackle knife crime, after a West Country campaigner suggested not enough are involved.
Earlier this week (15th January) we brought you comments from Bristol's Serena Weibe who at 21 is part of a group called The Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime, advising Number 10.
She told Greatest Hits Radio she has concerns that she is the youngest person involved.
She said: "I do make it clear that I think we need to get more young people in these meetings.
"Obviously it's all good me being there but I can't speak up for thousands and thousands of young people. I do, but it can't just be me.
"We need to involve other young people into these conversations because at the end of the day, we're the ones that are actually dealing with it.
"It's all good having these conversations but we need to hear from the young people who are actually fearing for their lives these days."
It comes as data from Avon and Somerset Police shows 1,953 crimes involving knives were recorded in the city between April 2023 and March 2024, compared to 1,553 the previous year, an increase of 26 per cent.
The figures show serious violence offences involving knives saw an even larger jump of 38 per cent, with 585 crimes recorded last year, compared to 423 the year before.
In response to Serena's comments, a government spokesperson said: “Halving Knife Crime is a mission for the government, and we will work to deliver our ambition over the next decade, to take back our streets and to make our communities a safer place for our young people.
“Having the lived experiences of young people is critical to our knife crime coalition and we are keen to ensure they have a platform to share their views, ideas and solutions to making Britain a safer place for the next generation.”
The Coalition, which is meeting once a month to discuss the issue, is tasking with identifying the children most at risk from knife crime and designing possible policy changes and reforms to improve things.
"Most importantly", the government says, it is hoping to tackle the root causes of knife crime and prevent the next generation from being drawn into carrying knives.
Compared to other major English cities, there were relatively fewer violent crimes in Bristol than elsewhere between April 2023 and March 2024.
The rate of violent crimes that caused injury per 1,000 population in Bristol was 10.7, less than Newcastle with 15.3; Birmingham and Nottingham both with 13.7; Manchester with 13; Liverpool with 12.3; and Leeds with 11.1.
However, the rate in Bristol was higher than London’s 8.9.
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