Across five days in April 2024, seven people were killed in five separate knife-related attacks in Sydney.

Two in particular caught huge media attention: the deadly Westfield Bondi attacks and the Wakeley church attack on Bishop Mari Emmanuel.

Three further attacks, including a stabbing that left one teenager dead, deepened the suspicion of worsening knife crime.

But amid the horror of these events and the following media debates, it is important not to lose sight of Australia’s many successes in tackling knife crime, let alone the far more lethal question of gun crime.

Weapons and violence are rarely out of the media cycle in Australia, leading many to fear this country is becoming less safe for everyday people. Is that really the case, though? This is the second story in a four-part series.

In the months that followed, the media reported a wave of knife-related crimes. This included:

In each incident, the suspects arrested were teenagers.

These events have put the spotlight of knife crime and has already led to the fast-tracking of a ban on machetes in Victoria, and tightening legislation in New South Wales on knife possession and powers to search would-be suspects.

The rapid succession of these events led to

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