FEAR AND FASHION Bridge House Trust Fear and Fashion The use of knives and other weapons by young people ALG – Children, Families and Young People’s Forum 6 th December 2005 Clare Thomas
Mar 29, 2015
FEAR AND FASHION
Bridge House Trust
Fear and FashionThe use of knives and other weapons
by young people
ALG – Children, Families and Young People’s Forum
6th December 2005Clare Thomas
FEAR AND FASHION
1097William Rufus taxes for London Bridge
1760 - 1900 Blackfriars,Southwark, Tower Bridges
1995 - 2005Grants – 4,500Totalling £170m
Timeline 1097 - 2005
Representing 20% of total awards
Overall budget 2005-06 - £17.9m
Children & Young PeopleGrants – 666Totalling - £34m
Bridge House Trust
FEAR AND FASHION
Children and Young People
Aims:
To redress imbalances in opportunities caused by poverty, disadvantage or circumstance and to encourage young people to fully participate in society.
FEAR AND FASHION
Children and Young People
• Preventative Work• Civic Engagement of Young People• Helping Young People in Crisis
Principles of Good Practice Involving young people in the planning and
delivery of services Collaborative work and sharing of best
practice Valuing diversity
FEAR AND FASHION
• Preventative work with young people supports work which
“reduces violence and the use of weapons amongst young
people”
Why Fear and Fashion?
FEAR AND FASHION
Aims of Research
• Further research to inform policy• Explore the issues• Identifying good practice• Encourage responsible & informed
debate• Promote exemplar projects
FEAR AND FASHION
Extent• Communities that Care findings
• 10% of 11 – 12 year olds have carried a knife or other
weapon
• 8% say they have used them
• 24% of 16 year olds have carried a knife or other weapon
• 19% have used them
• MORI for YJB found 29% of young people at school admitted
they had carried a knife
• Higher likelihood for those excluded from school
• Peak age: 15 - 16
FEAR AND FASHION
Types of knives and other weapons
• Knives: kitchen; combat; swords; stanley
knives
• Baseball bats
• Snooker balls in socks
• Screwdrivers
• Chains
• Make-up containing blades
FEAR AND FASHION
Location
• Streets
• Schools
• Youth clubs
• Locality: hotspots –
Southwark/Lambeth
N. Westminster/Brent
FEAR AND FASHION
Causes: Fashion• The role of TV and media much contested
• Must be interwoven with other factors e.g. parental influence,
school exclusion
• Counter-factual evidence
• ‘Knives hold a particular fascination for children’ (Glasgow
University)
• Identity formation in adolescence
• ‘Bridge to adulthood’
• Gender identity
• Acquiring status amongst peers
FEAR AND FASHION
Causes: Fear• ‘Fear outweighs aggression as a motivator’
• ‘Arming your attacker’: Self-defence is the motive; violence
is the result
• Crime in the street: violence and theft
• Bullying at school
• Gangs
• Experience of being a victim of a crime
• Reluctance to report crime
• Victims can become offenders
• Intending to harm
FEAR AND FASHION
Integrated approaches
• Mentoring
• Conflict resolution
• Weapons awareness
• Reducing gangs
• Support for parents
• Exemplars or Demonstration Projects
FEAR AND FASHION
RecommendationsProactive approaches
• Prevention and raising awareness
• Informal education
• Peer learning and influencing,
particularly for those at risk
• Working with offenders
• Supporting young victims
FEAR AND FASHION
Fear and Fashion – Our Response• Commissioning 2 local “exemplars” projects – models of
good practice, learning set, website, Advisory GroupAims:To develop exemplar, multi-agency projects working with young people to tackle knife culture so as to reduce the use and carrying of knives and other weapons, to support victims and to provide positive alternatives and long term change.
• 60 organisations invited to apply for grants of £150K p.a. 3 years initially – possibly extend to 5 years
• Total possible funding available £750,000• The Funding Consortium
FEAR AND FASHIONFear and Fashion – The ExemplarsWill:-• bring together a package of interventions to raise
awareness of the problem and of the consequences of carrying weapons
• support school-age victims of crime and their families
• provide alternatives to carrying weapons and reduce frequency
• create positive peer group influences• work in multi-agency partnership • help develop a local strategy contribute and inform
the wider policy debate on knife culture liaising with key Government departments including the Home Office, Department for Education and Skills and the Association of Chief Police Officers
• provide models of good practice and materials
FEAR AND FASHION
Fear and Fashion - Website
Aims:• To provide a web-based information
service for professionals and policy makers on issues relating to guns, gangs and knives
• To showcase examples of ‘good practice’
• To update on policy initiatives and emerging trends
Estimated cost - £56,000 per year