Knife crime figures continue to rise - What is the solution?

Knife Crime
31 January 2020

Knife crime figures continue to rise - What is the solution?

Knife crime, or stabbings with sharp objects, blades etc are incidents that the police deal with on a daily basis. However, from 2011, the official police crime statistics had shown that offences involving knives or sharp instruments in England and Wales had been declining year on year.

Unfortunately since 2014 this has not been the case and with figures indicating a significant yearly rise. The Office for National Statistics shows that between September 2016 and 2017, there were a massive 37,443 recorded knife offences in England and Wales. This staggering amount is 21% higher than the previous year. In these areas there is an incident involving a blade or sharp object taking place, on average, every 14 minutes!

Over the 44 police forces in England and Wales, 38 of them showed a rise in knife crime. Of the 38, the Metropolitan Police had the biggest increase. In London alone, there was 12,980 knife crimes in 2017, this is 2,452 more than 2016. When asked about this, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan commented, “The most violent crimes, including knife crime, are rising across England & Wales. This is clearly a national problem that requires national solutions."

What can be done about knife crime?

Knives are in every household, every smashed bottle becomes a weapon and sharp implements can be found almost anywhere. So, how can it possibly be stopped? Well this is the tough job that the government and police forces have in front of them.

The London knife crime strategy is broken into 6 stages:

  1. Targeting lawbreakers
  2. Offering ways out of crime
  3. Keeping deadly weapons off our streets
  4. Protecting and educating young people
  5. Standing with communities, neighbourhoods and families against knife crime
  6. Supporting victims of knife crime

The only way it can be reduced is if everybody helps. Making it harder for individuals to get away with carrying weapons and helping those who need it, standing together to reduce the problem.

Being prepared

Recently, Steroplast Healthcare was contacted by a lady named Lynne Baird with a request to manufacture trauma kits. Lynne's son, Daniel Baird was fatally stabbed outside a pub in Birmingham following a night out with his friends. Daniel's family were in a state of shock with what had happened and channelled their grief into campaigning to raise awareness of knife crime. In the West Midlands, where Lynne lives, knife crime has almost doubled in the past 3 years - 10 people were killed in 2017.

Lynne, together with family and friends have set up the Daniel Baird Foundation - All Lives Matter. Their aim to increase the need for advanced first aid training, incorporating catastrophic bleeding control. Once we had heard Lynne's story, and her passion for raising awareness, we knew we had to get involved.

Steroplast Bleed Control Kit

Together we have created a Bleed Control Kit that can be purchased and placed into pubs, shops and venues. So, should the worst case scenario ever occur, there will be emergency equipment on-site that could be used to save a life. The kit has been designed, so that anyone can use the equipment without the need for training. The bleed control kit includes a responder gauze, a resusciade face shield, a state of the art S.T.A.T tourniquet, a trauma bandage, paramedic shears and nitrile gloves for infection control.

Each bleed control kits cost £35.00 plus vat, which is nothing if a life is saved. Venues should provide equipment like this to make sure the people visiting can be cared for in an emergency situation. If you would like to order a kit, you can click here or call 0161 902 3030. If you would like to know more about the Daniel Baird Foundation you can click here.