Violence and knife crime are preventable, not inevitable.

Listen to this article

It’s a simple message, but it’s one that recognises we must not rely on ‘quick-fixes’ and retrospective action alone to tackle the issue.

In London, prevention plays a critical role in tackling the conditions that can lead to a young person being exploited or sucked into a world of violence. Prevention is no longer seen as a ‘nice to have’ or framed solely as a moral argument to tackle violence, but is evidenced as an approach in the capital that works side by side with police enforcement.

Central to this is investing in young people. The impact of not doing so for more than a decade as a result of austerity is plain for all to see. We lost more than 80 youth clubs and over 800 youth workers during that time, which, perhaps unsurprisingly, coincided with an increase in violence and young people losing their lives to a growing knife crime........

© LBC