The last ten years have seen an alarming and continued rise in knife-enabled crime in the UK. Driven by an underlying, growing serious youth violence epidemic, and enabled by continued legislative and policy deficiencies, the crime has become one of the most widespread risks to child safety. Though recent developments point to a positive evolution in the national response, greater efforts are required to ensure measures prioritise children’s best interests and recognise their innate vulnerability.
The scale of the crisis
In 2024, the United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported over 55,000 nationwide incidents of knife-enabled crime – a 4% increase compared to the previous year and an 80% increase relative to figures from a decade ago (Office for National Statistics, 2025). This figure included over 260 murders in England and Wales involving a knife or a sharp instrument, and a further 3,735 admissions into NHS hospitals as a result of assault by a sharp object (Office for National Statistics, 2025).
Though knife-enabled crimes are geographically dispersed, the majority of incidents occur in metropolitan areas: Greater London, the West Midlands and Greater Manchester account for nearly half of all national incidents (Office for National Statistics, 2025).
Young people at risk
Children and young persons under the age of 25 are one of the most affected demographics. In 2022-23, 42 young people aged 16-19 fell victims of knife-enabled homicides (His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation, 2024). Last year, in 2024, 57 persons under the age of 25 were murdered with a knife or sharp object (Office for National Statistics, 2025).
Broader research on the drivers of knife-related incidents within youth communities depicts a serious youth violence epidemic – affecting both young people regularly involved in violence and others, indirectly (His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation, 2024). Serious youth violence refers to actions causing serious or grievous bodily harm, or weapon-enabled crime, involving victims up to the age of 19. Evidence points to entire communities overrun by serious youth violence, propagating widespread fear amongst youth populations (His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation, 2024).
A 2023 survey of nearly 8,000 children across England and Wales highlighted similar levels of societal instability, finding 25% of all respondents had either perpetrated or been a victim of violence (His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation, 2024). Nearly half of the same respondents claimed to have witnessed violence in 2023 (His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation, 2024).
Serious youth violence has also been shown to have strong links to other forms of harm and exploitation, intersecting with county lines – the organised criminal movement of illicit drugs within the United Kingdom – and child criminal exploitation (His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation, 2024). In a national landscape where law enforcement face increasing resource challenges as crime continues to thrive, police forces risk being overrun by the volume and scale of violent activity.
Gaps in the response
The national response to knife-enabled crime has been unable to comprehensively address underlying drivers of serious youth violence or stem the flow and accessibility of dangerous weapons. On the latter, knife-enabled crime is often perpetrated using machetes or so-called ‘zombie knives’: ornate and elaborate weapons inspired by zombie-themed horror films. Efforts to outlaw these weapons have proved ineffective.
Data collected by the Office for National Statistics Centre for Crime and Justice found that between April 2023 to March 2024, of 262 offences perpetrated using a sharp object, 109 offences were perpetrated using a kitchen knife, 18 using a machete, 13 using a Rambo/combat knife, 4 using a zombie knife, the rest of the sharp instruments being an axe, flick knife, hunting knife, lock knife, sword and other sharp instruments (Office for Office for National Statistics Centre for Crime and Justice, 2025).
A 2016 ban on the sale of zombie knives was undermined by a gap in the legal provision which enabled distributors to re-categorise the tools by ‘removing threatening language from the blades’, rendering them legal (Musa-Eiggie, 2025). The absence of comprehensive legislation, combined with a dearth of victim-friendly mechanisms for disclosing and handing-in weapons to law enforcement, has helped keep knives on the street.
At a broader level, studies have observed a national failure to integrate local safeguarding partnerships into serious youth violence contexts (His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation, 2024). Rather than treating children – perpetrators or otherwise – as victims, the government’s response to date has offered little guidance to families and communities on how to address the issue within their local area (His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation, 2024).
Existing child protection mechanisms demonstrate an overfocus on risk within the family, rather than outside the home (His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation, 2024). As a result, some children involved in or affected by serious youth violence fall outside of the scope of national safeguarding efforts, and are not provided any formalised support.
Children have further been isolated from most decision-making processes on knife-enabled crime policy and strategy. If their views are not prioritised and integrated into national responses, actions risk overlooking the main drivers of violence and, crucially, obscuring some of the particular characteristics that enhance vulnerability (His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation, 2024).
Though knife-enabled crime does not discriminate, some of its underlying drivers intersect with wider inequities in the criminal justice system (Popham, 2024). For instance, children from particular ethnic and racial backgrounds are not only more likely to face school exclusions and interact with the criminal justice system but are also disproportionately interrogated and strip-searched by law enforcement (His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation, 2024).
Studies from 2022-23 show black children in the United Kingdom were over six times more likely to be murdered relative to their national population distribution, as well as ‘twice as likely to be arrested’ (His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation, 2024). If policymakers do not consider and directly address these underlying inequities, they risk implementing measures that do not prioritise the most at-risk communities.
Ways forward
Changes in the policy and enforcement landscape in the last two years offer reasons to be optimistic about an evolving prioritisation of knife-enabled crime. Legislatively, the Government’s Crime and Policing Bill will close the existing loophole for zombie knives and samurai swords and extends novel sanctions for tech companies who allow the sale of banned knives on their platforms (Nevett, 2024).
The Bill will also mandate retailers to disclose suspicious knife purchases, impose more stringent ID checks for buyers and, over time, be asked to partake in a licensing scheme to register and track knife purchases (Green & Bridge, 2025). Following inputs from the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC), the Bill will also include increases in prison sentences for the distribution of weapons to children and a new “possession with violent intent” charge to offer a stronger deterrent to potential offenders (Green & Bridge, 2025).
In late 2024, the government encouraged and enabled legal knife owners to hand in their weapons to police stations without prosecution (Musa-Eiggie, 2025). In response to calls for more effective multi-agency partnerships on the issue, the Prime Minister recently established a cross-sector coalition to tackle knife crime.
This partnership includes government, victims and their families, tech companies, local grassroots organisations and public service partners – health, education and enforcement (Home Office, 2024).
On the ground, the government has committed to encouraging and investing in efforts to enhance public safety. Across the national police forces, an additional 13,000 officers have been promised in response to severe capacity challenges (Nevett, 2024). Within the framework of the Serious Violence Duty – a 2023-established obligation – the government has further urged councils and local services to more routinely share information on serious violence and develop strategies that address root causes (His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation, 2024).
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Written by Vanessa Cezarita Cordeiro
References:
Adams, Richard. (2024, November 20). “Knife crime ‘blighting the lives of too many children’ in England, warns inspectors.” Retrieved from The Guardian, accessed on 25 February 2025.
Green, R. & Bridge, R. (2025, 19 February). “New knife laws will make difference, says victim’s sister.” Retrieved from BBC News, accessed on 25 February 2025.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation. (2024, November 20). “Multi-agency responses to serious youth violence: working together to support and protect children.” Retrieved from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation, accessed on 25 February 2025.
Home Office. (2024, 9 September). “Government to launch new coalition to tackle knife crime.” Retrieved from Home Office, accessed on 25 February 2025.
Musa-Eiggie, L. (2025, January 30). “Four months on: Zombie knife ban – has it made a difference?” Retrieved from Youth Endowment Fund, accessed on 1 March 2025.
Nevett, J. (2024, September 24). “Labour on a mission to halve knife crime, Cooper says.” Retrieved from BBC News, accessed on 28 February 2025.
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Popham, Dr. C. (2024, May 23). “Behind the knife crime statistics: understanding children who carry weapons.” Retrieved from Youth Endowment Fund, accessed on 1 March 2025.
Walker, G. & Sandeman, G. “Idris Elba on stabbing crisis: ‘not all kitchen knives need a point on them.’” Retrieved from BBC News, accessed on 25 February 2025.
