ENGLAND
The maximum sentence for carrying a knife has recently increased to four years. The government has also just launched a £1m campaign to challenge the glamour some young people may associate with knife crime. The campaign includes adverts made by young people for radio, websites, posters and mobile phones. There will also be adverts in women's magazines to encourage mothers to talk to their children about knives.
In addition, the government is keen to tackle violence by using antisocial behaviour orders (Asbos). It also announced in March that the Be Safe initiative will be given sufficient funding to run anti-knife crime workshops for more than a million young people over five years.
SCOTLAND
The maximum sentence for carrying a knife in Scotland has recently doubled from two to four years. At the same time, legislation banned the general sale of swords, increased the age limit for buying non-domestic knives to 18 and brought in licensing for them.
Two years ago, the Violence Reduction Unit was established as a centre of expertise for tackling violence. It examines the causes and provides preventive measures in partnership with other agencies.
The Scottish government also provided £1.6m to community safety partnerships to tackle alcohol-related violence over festive periods. In 2005/06 nearly 4,000 people were charged with handling an offensive weapon.
WALES
The Welsh Assembly Government does not have any devolved powers for dealing with knife crime, so the law is exactly the same as in England.
Both countries are to benefit from £20m of Home Office funding during the next three years, which will be used to set up information sharing schemes between the police, councils, volunteer groups and health workers, in order to identify people who are likely to commit acts of serious violence.
There is no precise data on knife crime in Wales, although Home Office statistics for England and Wales show nearly 8,000 people were charged with handling an offensive weapon between January and March 2006.
NORTHERN IRELAND
In October last year, the law in Northern Ireland changed to reflect UK-wide moves towards reducing knife crime. It became an offence to sell a knife to anyone under 18 and the maximum sentence for carrying one doubled from two to four years.
The Northern Ireland Office, which is the equivalent of the Home Office, is also looking at introducing a knife-licensing scheme and a code of practice for knife retailers. Other initiatives include amnesties and school-based education schemes run by the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Neither body holds statistics that relate solely to the number of knife-related crimes committed in Northern Ireland.
