Transdisciplinary Research for Youth Justice (TRYJUSTICE): Response to the Crime and Policing Bill: Knife Crime Factsheet

In September 2025, TRYJustice published this response to the government’s Crime and Policing Bill: Knife Crime Factsheet. The Bill sets out new measures aimed at reducing knife crime, including enhanced police powers to enter homes and seize knives, and increased penalties for possession. While we support efforts to protect children and communities from violence, our network of academics, practitioners, and experts by experience argue that the current framing risks reinforcing fear, which can in itself perpetuate more knife-related crime, rather than addressing the underlying causes of knife-related offences. We also argue that more punitive approaches have little evidence base. This paper highlights the importance of a child-centred, transdisciplinary approach that recognises the social, developmental, and systemic factors that drive children’s involvement with knives. By drawing on evidence across criminology, psychology, education, health, and lived experience, we argue that sustainable change requires more than criminal justice interventions alone.

Our response outlines a series of recommendations to strengthen the Bill, including reframing knife crime as part of a wider serious violence agenda, embedding welfare-led responses when knives are discovered, safeguarding against disproportionality, and ensuring that children and young adults are treated distinctly from adults. We advocate for investment in prevention and support, from re-engagement in education to community-led violence interruption programmes, alongside careful monitoring to protect against the discriminatory application of new powers. Our aim is to provide constructive, evidence-based insights to ensure that policies not only reduce harm in the short term, but also contribute to safer communities and fairer futures for children and young people.