The message from the Metropolitan Police was clear: after the latest in a series of fatal stabbings - mostly involving young people - the force announced this month that tackling knife crime was the "number one priority for the Met at this time". But as research published in May made clear, the police cannot address this problem or youth crime in general, without the improved support of other agencies.
The Youth Scrutiny report, produced by the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) - which supports and scrutinises the Met - examined youth crime in London. While the media spotlight fell on the calls from some members of the MPA's youth panel for a more punitive approach, the report made far more wide-ranging recommendations, crucially urging health and children's services to play a greater role in tackling the issue.
"It was felt that services such as health and children's services could play a more proactive role in this arena, especially through information sharing and early intervention with young people at risk," it said.
Uanu Seshmi, a director of the Boyhood to Manhood Foundation, which works to empower young people, echoes the call for local authorities to do more. "The public has an unfair perception of what the police are there to do: the police are only half the solution to tackling youth crime; they deal with young people after they have crossed the line. They (health and children's services) do not have a coherent approach.
"The boys we work with, who are involved in gun and knife crime, have been brought up on a diet of killing and stabbing. They need to be in an environment where they can build constructive relationships, so they can value their own lives and other people's. You can't just throw extra-curricular activities like basketball and football at the problem."
For George Hosking, founder of the Wave Trust, early intervention is the key. His organisation works to raise awareness about the causes of crime and ways to tackle it.
"There is a great deal of work that health and children's services can do to stop young people going on the path to crime and violence," he says. "Vulnerable children can often be identified as early as five years old. They and their families need support then. Wave's research has found extensive home visits by health visitors and training parents on how to interact with their children from an early age to be very effective in developing emotions such as empathy.
Susannah Hancock, the Youth Justice Board's London regional manager, who has been seconded to work with the London Criminal Justice Board on reducing violent youth crime, also believes early intervention is essential.
Young victims of crime often go on to become perpetrators in the future, she says, so it is vital that agencies provide greater support for "young people who have suffered victimisation, as this will directly contribute to youth crime prevention".
Andy Knowles, assistant director of children's services at Camden Council, acknowledges the current situation is far from perfect, but is robust in his defence of the work by many local authorities. "In Camden we have a good partnership with the local police and health services. We recognise that any aspect of youth crime is an issue for everyone," he says. "Information sharing is improving and the Common Assessment Framework is helping too. Early intervention is taken seriously in Camden. You need to make sure that the right level of support goes in to vulnerable young people and families. It's not always about providing positive activities; it's about building resilience and emotional intelligence in the young people."
The MPA emphasised the importance of detached youth work, and praised the work Camden is doing in this field. "Detached youth work is essentially youth work on the street," says Knowles. "If young people feel they are just being herded off to a youth club, they won't react well. It's about making young people aware of the things that are on offer to them, but not vilifying them if they don't take them up. It's about engaging with them, but not in a closed environment."
Knowles argues the government needs to support local authorities and other agencies' attempts to address youth crime by providing sustainable, long-term funding. "My fear is about projects that don't have time to settle in and get embedded," he says.
Long-term change
Ultimately, the underlying causes of youth crime require fundamental societal change, as the MPA report made clear. It emphasised how poverty and the difference between the inner-city and leafier London suburbs affects young people's experiences of the police and crime.
"There is a strong link between areas of serious deprivation and youth violence: you won't sort it out if you just look at the crime; you need a much longer term approach, looking at issues such as regeneration," says Hancock.
Hosking adds: "I don't think how much money you have is a factor so much as the environment you grow. If you live on a run down estate you are more likely to come across, for example, drug addicts and other troubled teens."
While the issue of youth crime - and knife crime in particular - is likely to remain a major concern, it is important to retain a sense of perspective. As the MPA report states: "The vast majority of young people are neither violent nor criminals. The number of young people involved in offending behaviour is significantly lower than the public currently perceives it to be."
YOUNG PERSON'S VIEW
The march through north London in support of Ben Kinsella, the 16-year-old stabbed to death in the early hours of 29 June, had a powerful effect on Jack. "It was good to see people going out and saying 'enough is enough'," he says. "They showed how much damage knife crime can do. The stabbing scared me - it could have happened to me or my friends."
Jack, 16, was a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority's (MPA) youth panel and contributed to the MPA's recent report on youth crime. "If you have 19 young people stabbed in London this year then it's obvious that violence is a serious problem," he says. "I think the problem is getting worse. I have spoken to people who have been carrying knives, most of them say for self-protection."
Jack, from Chiswick, west London, has also experienced youth crime first hand. "I've been robbed twice, and been the victim of another attempted robbery, although they weren't violent," he says. "You feel powerless, angry and upset that they will probably get away with it. Friends have also been beaten up outside school - it seems almost acceptable now to do that."
A raft of measures is needed to tackle the problem, Jack believes, notably improving relations between young people and the police along with bette r youth provision.
"A lot of young people dislike the police and that's got to be addressed," he says. "I think more officers should go into schools and youth clubs, not in uniform, and talk to the young people, to show they're human. Often young people feel that the police won't help them, so they have to look after themselves.
"There should also be more youth provision. Me and my friends often don't have anywhere to go in the evenings if no one's house is free, so activities are useful for everyone, not just those involved in violence."
HOW THE MET IS IMPLEMENTING ECM
While most police forces locate responsibility for the Every Child Matters (ECM) agenda in child abuse or vulnerable person teams, the Met has embedded it in territorial policing, with every borough expected to play its part. Since January it has delivered a three-hour ECM training course to all officers up to the rank of inspector and thousands of support staff. Inspector Alan Hodges, the Met's ECM implementation manager, says: "Officers have got to think about children and young people in everything they do."
The Met is also working to improve communication with other agencies and ensure every borough has a representative on the Local Safeguarding Children Board. Arguably, the biggest change was seen last month, with the creation of public protection desks in each borough. These desks examine Merlin files for their area - Merlin is the Met's IT system onto which officers file concerns about children or young people. The protection desks then use these reports to make enquiries and share information with partner agencies.
While there is senior-level commitment to ECM, has the message found its way to the rank and file? Hodges believes so, pointing to a 50 per cent increase in the number of Merlin reports filed each week since the ECM training started. "The training has hit the majority of the workforce; most officers are now fully aware. They have got used to the new threshold of concern and responsibility."
