The UK Knife culture

Disclaimer: This site is part of a project to explore the problems associated with knife crimes. It aggregates information from a variety of sources including, but not limited to the BBC. Their respective rights in any images or information used is hereby acknowledged.

20 January

Lawrence Steel, 44, from Tynesdie died after interfering in an argument in a pub. His 23-year-old son was also stabbed but survived.

7 January

Maurice Hilton, 46, died in hospital in Durham. The divorced father-of-three was found at a house in Station town. A 27-year-old woman has been charged with his murder.

Knife crime needs to be taken seriously, but are we merely fashion victims?

Fashions in concern of violence?

Sociologist Simon Winlow is worried about fashions in concern of violence.

"Last year we were worried about gun crime, the year before that we were worried about relationships between drug use and crimes. Next week we will be worrying about something else. None of these fashions have any bearing on the level of violent crime in this country."

"It is a crucial issue which needs to be taken seriously and the fact that we have fashions in concerns about violence is just a moral panic that has developed, something for us to worry about now."

Andy Cutler agrees that fashions can tend to switch from one thing to another through the media; "But we carry on doing whatever we can regarding any weapon on our streets."

Campaigners say amnesties alone can not make a difference but what do the experts think of the knife amnesty?

Sociologist Simon Winlow

Be Safe founder Kevin Everard