The solution to knife crime is not a quick fix and it isn't something that is going to come cheaply, I have been involved in local task forces discussions with MP's and been on countless marches but the problem is no one listens to the people on the ground;

millions of pounds get wasted producing white papers;
that never get anything done. 

 The current Government rhetoric about being tough on crime ; is all well and good but being tough is not a deterrent,

nowhere in the world is there any evidence that supports the theory that harsher sentences reduce crime,
giving a bigger sentence for using, only deals with problem after the event;
what needs to happen is much early intervention and a deeper look at the
problems in society

It is no secret that crime and poverty are linked if you have more poverty you have more crime, if the environment that people live in is run down and uncared for, then you have more crime

There is also a link between crime, care, and school exclusions.  The current figures show that  you are  12 times more likely to end up in prison if you are excluded;  and in UK prisons it shows that around 63% of prisoners had some form of school exclusion

Then if you look at people from the care system, they make up 27% of the prison population, that figure is disproportionate to the number of people who enter the care system which is around 1percent

Take my own story, I suffered from dyslexia my whole life, this was undiagnosed at school and my own feelings of embarrassment and shame from feeling less intelligent than my peers manifested itself in disruptive behaviour, I was in and out of school from various exclusions .