FEAR AND FASHION

Bridge House Trust

Fear and FashionThe use of knives and other weapons

by young people

ALG – Children, Families and Young People’s Forum

6th December 2005Clare Thomas

FEAR AND FASHION

1097William Rufus taxes for London Bridge

1760 - 1900 Blackfriars,Southwark, Tower Bridges

1995 - 2005Grants – 4,500Totalling £170m

Timeline 1097 - 2005

Representing 20% of total awards

Overall budget 2005-06 - £17.9m

Children & Young PeopleGrants – 666Totalling - £34m

Bridge House Trust

FEAR AND FASHION

Children and Young People

Aims:

To redress imbalances in opportunities caused by poverty, disadvantage or circumstance and to encourage young people to fully participate in society.

FEAR AND FASHION

Children and Young People

• Preventative Work• Civic Engagement of Young People• Helping Young People in Crisis

Principles of Good Practice Involving young people in the planning and

delivery of services Collaborative work and sharing of best

practice Valuing diversity

FEAR AND FASHION

• Preventative work with young people supports work which

“reduces violence and the use of weapons amongst young

people”

Why Fear and Fashion?

FEAR AND FASHION

Aims of Research

• Further research to inform policy• Explore the issues• Identifying good practice• Encourage responsible & informed

debate• Promote exemplar projects

FEAR AND FASHION

Extent• Communities that Care findings

• 10% of 11 – 12 year olds have carried a knife or other

weapon

• 8% say they have used them

• 24% of 16 year olds have carried a knife or other weapon

• 19% have used them

• MORI for YJB found 29% of young people at school admitted

they had carried a knife

• Higher likelihood for those excluded from school

• Peak age: 15 - 16

FEAR AND FASHION

Types of knives and other weapons

• Knives: kitchen; combat; swords; stanley

knives

• Baseball bats

• Snooker balls in socks

• Screwdrivers

• Chains

• Make-up containing blades

FEAR AND FASHION

Location

• Streets

• Schools

• Youth clubs

• Locality: hotspots –

Southwark/Lambeth

N. Westminster/Brent

FEAR AND FASHION

Causes: Fashion• The role of TV and media much contested

• Must be interwoven with other factors e.g. parental influence,

school exclusion

• Counter-factual evidence

• ‘Knives hold a particular fascination for children’ (Glasgow

University)

• Identity formation in adolescence

• ‘Bridge to adulthood’

• Gender identity

• Acquiring status amongst peers

FEAR AND FASHION

Causes: Fear• ‘Fear outweighs aggression as a motivator’

• ‘Arming your attacker’: Self-defence is the motive; violence

is the result

• Crime in the street: violence and theft

• Bullying at school

• Gangs

• Experience of being a victim of a crime

• Reluctance to report crime

• Victims can become offenders

• Intending to harm

FEAR AND FASHION

Integrated approaches

• Mentoring

• Conflict resolution

• Weapons awareness

• Reducing gangs

• Support for parents

• Exemplars or Demonstration Projects

FEAR AND FASHION

RecommendationsProactive approaches

• Prevention and raising awareness

• Informal education

• Peer learning and influencing,

particularly for those at risk

• Working with offenders

• Supporting young victims

FEAR AND FASHION

Fear and Fashion – Our Response• Commissioning 2 local “exemplars” projects – models of

good practice, learning set, website, Advisory GroupAims:To develop exemplar, multi-agency projects working with young people to tackle knife culture so as to reduce the use and carrying of knives and other weapons, to support victims and to provide positive alternatives and long term change.

• 60 organisations invited to apply for grants of £150K p.a. 3 years initially – possibly extend to 5 years

• Total possible funding available £750,000• The Funding Consortium

FEAR AND FASHIONFear and Fashion – The ExemplarsWill:-• bring together a package of interventions to raise

awareness of the problem and of the consequences of carrying weapons

• support school-age victims of crime and their families

• provide alternatives to carrying weapons and reduce frequency

• create positive peer group influences• work in multi-agency partnership • help develop a local strategy contribute and inform

the wider policy debate on knife culture liaising with key Government departments including the Home Office, Department for Education and Skills and the Association of Chief Police Officers

• provide models of good practice and materials

FEAR AND FASHION

Fear and Fashion - Website

Aims:• To provide a web-based information

service for professionals and policy makers on issues relating to guns, gangs and knives

• To showcase examples of ‘good practice’

• To update on policy initiatives and emerging trends

Estimated cost - £56,000 per year