Tackling knife crime

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-67540706
But when the police stop an armed child they get pulled up for it!

True, but we need to approach this with a clear and solution focused strategy, not an emotional one.

More daily mail headline grabbing bullshit than Draconian

I think there is a lot more to be disclosed about that before any conclusions are drawn

I completely agree. Weak family structures and a lack of male role models have a huge part to play in this.

Also agree that it’s not random people being stabbed, most of the victims (and perpetrators) are young black boys who are connected in some ways to gangs. These are not a group who are a priority for politicians and they rarely have strong families to advocate on their behalf so the cycle of stabbings and violence continues

As long as they're "just" attacking others like them, it seems nothing will be done. So many under the radar parallel lives are going on and being allowed to go on until they reach some kind of critical mass that will eventually explode, I'm guessing...

No more children walking or bussing alone?
I don’t think that’s the answer to knife crime.

I agree with 1 & 2, but not 3.

1. Parents. Don't try and tell me you don't know your kid carries a knife - especially if it's one of those Rambo serrated bastards.

1. Peers. If one kid arms himself then it starts.

1. The Law. If someone kills another person - however young - life means till death. No possibility of parole.

The drug dealers in our estate carried knives, but they were white and only hurt each other so got away with it for ages. Took five years to get them banged up.

FWIW my 17yr old is a police cadet and they were out with metal detectors last week looking for discarded knives in parks. They also did test purchasing and luckily every shop passed and asked for ID.

There are various things being done, as others have said, but it's a piecemeal, localized approach.

I think escalating knife and violent crime is indicative of an increasingly anti authority society, with many young people being extremely challenging in schools, with no real consequences for their behaviour. I don't call isolation a proper deterrent. (I have just read an upsetting thread about a boy being relentlessly bullied at his secondary school).

The recent trend of gentle parenting isn't helping either.

I live in one of the London boroughs worst affected by knife crime.

The one unifying factor in virtually all knife crime cases is boys with no fathers at home.

It's all very well focusing on youth services and police cuts (and yes, these are important), but it's like putting a plaster on a gaping wound. The problem starts on the most basic building block of society, from within the family. So the government could start by ceasing their tirade against the family unit.

I know this is a profoundly unpopular opinion and goes against the fundamental MN relationships narrative. But I've looked at the evidence, and I strongly believe this is true. Boys need fathers. No amount of sociological acrobatics will change that.

OP, yes poverty has been around for ages but the gap between rich and poor is larger than ever. Couple that with both parents working and rampant consumerism that tells people that anyone can have anything - is a fishbowl of disaster. The ongoing lack of respect for authority does not help

Apologies, quoted wrong poster.

Armed police at all schools?

So how would parents manage that in balance with work?

I work shifts... can't just drop it all to pick up my 15 year old everyday

Of course preventing crime in the first place is the better option....same can be said for any crime

It needs a public health approach imho

Most of those solutions are undesirable or impractical though.

Metal detectors and bag searches at the entrances to schools would work. As well as armed police presence outside. Parents required to collect children from school. No more children walking or bussing or training home alone.