Editorial: Give teens a reason not to carry knives

No-one can possibly know whether this tragedy could have been averted if the knife amnesty had been launched a few weeks earlier. But an amnesty alone is not going to do much to alleviate knife crime among young people.

Any campaign that aims to stop young people carrying knives has to tackle the reasons why they feel the need to do so. This is something the Government recognises. Talking about the amnesty, a Home Office spokesperson emphasised the need for police forces to work with voluntary groups such as Be Safe (www.besafeproject. org.uk) and youth clubs during the amnesty, which runs from 24 May to 30 June. Amnesty bins, for example, might be located in youth clubs rather than police stations to encourage young people to use them. But the areas would still need to be policed.