Every year, almost 200 people lose their lives to knife crime. Every life lost is an individual tragedy. None of this is ok, and none of this needs to be this way. 

The Youth Endowment Fund has always believed – as Nelson Mandela said – that violence is not inevitable. We have always believed that by listening to young people, paying hard attention to what works and what doesn’t and pushing for evidence-based change, we can together save lives. Over the last few years, based on the evidence of what works, we have called for changes to the way our country deals with violence. We called for:

• Swift access to help and support for all children found with a knife. 
• Improved support for suspended children to help them reintegrate into school. 
• Investment in youth clubs and training for youth workers. 
• Clear flexibility for schools – where violence is high – to use the £2.9bn of funding they receive for disadvantaged pupils on evidence-based ways of reducing violence.  
• Specific training for teachers (in their National Professional Qualifications) to ensure a stronger focus on protecting children from violence. 

Many understandably doubted our belief that things can get better, that policy can be changed on the basis of evidence, that together we can make things safer.  

Today is a good day. Today, all of those things have become government policy, and more. 

For today, the government publishes a plan to halve knife crime. This plan is one based on young people’s views and the evidence of what works. It draws heavily on the YEF’s Violence Prevention Toolkit that brings together the best learning from around the world on what works to prevent violence. This is a plan – and an approach – that should mean fewer lives tragically lost, fewer families in mourning, fewer trauma surgeons desperately saving lives, less trauma.  

We have not been alone in calling for change. The plan also reflects years of work by many, including members of the Knife Crime Coalition, and the tireless efforts of families and communities who have demanded action in the face of devastating loss. 

We must also recognise those in government who have listened to these voices and used the evidence to shape a plan that is more compassionate, more urgent and focused on what works. At its heart is an important shift: a recognition that preventing violence is not the sole responsibility of any one service or government department, but of all those who work with and support children. From schools and youth services to the police and the justice system, keeping children safe must be a shared mission. 

There is more to do. But this is a moment of opportunity. The focus now must be on delivery and on turning the ambition of halving knife crime in a decade into real change for children and communities. 

Jon Yates 
CEO, Youth Endowment Fund 

You can watch YEF’s statement on the Government’s plan to halve knife crime on our YouTube channel.