“Shows like the hit Netflix series Adolescence cast a particularly bright light on the issue of knife crime in 2025.

“How children and young people interact with the police, how they come away from their experience with the criminal justice system, will shape them and have far-reaching implications – not just in terms of whether they go on to reoffend.

“That’s a core issue at the heart of many cases involving the use or possession of a knife.

“We know that the majority of knife-enabled crime in Essex is in that 17 to 25 age group, both from a perpetrator and victim standpoint.”

Detective Chief Inspector Ian Hughes, of our Serious Violence Unit, is speaking during Sceptre – a week-long focus on knife crime conducted by police forces across the country.

Across this week, we’ll be getting into schools, working with partners to educate young people around the consequences of carrying a knife and busting some of the myths around gang violence and exploitation.

This includes our work with the multi-agency Violence and Vulnerability Unit (VVU).

Our Joint Education Team, comprising of Essex Police and in partnership with Essex Fire and Rescue Service, will be hosting a number of sessions in schools, alongside separate visits from officers in districts across the county.

The VVU, made up of a number of agencies including the police, undertakes a range of preventative work to address the underlying factors which contribute to violence.

As part of their work, they deliver the ReRoute programme.

Across this week, ReRoute practitioners are conducting home visits with 20 young people suspected to have been involved in knife or drug-related crime.

The ReRoute programme sees skilled practitioners build trust and a relationship with young people suspected of violence or drug offences.

This follows referrals from our officers after an arrest.

‘Setting young people on the right track’ 

DCI Hughes added:

“We know and we’re not oblivious to the fact that early intervention with young people is absolutely key to steering them away from a negative path in their lives.

“The time between a young person’s arrest and their appearance at a crown court can be lengthy, in some extreme cases up to two years.

“In that time, ReRoute practitioners will look to tackle the issues around that young person which might have led them to becoming involved in crime.

“This will often include help and support for housing, finances, education and employment based on the young person’s identified needs and risks.

“We have seen successes referring young people to ReRoute.

“We also have dedicated safeguarding officers embedded within our Serious Violence Unit, who work to refer vulnerable young people to partner services, including the ReRoute programme.”

A 19-year-old man, from north Essex, recently arrested for possession of an offensive weapon and possession with intent to supply Class A drugs is progressing well under the ReRoute scheme.

This young man has no family support and had recently left the care system.

During his time under ReRoute, he has shared his past experiences of exploitation at the hands of county lines gangs since the age of 13.

He has undergone training to allow him to work in the construction industry.

Sam Grant, our Violence and Vulnerability Project Manager, said:

“By enabling this young man to overcome financial, educational and employment barriers, by helping him to make better decisions and understanding the harm caused through his offending behaviour – he is now contributing to society and not causing harm to himself or others.

“He now shows a real desire to change.

“He has increased self-belief in himself that he can have a future which does not involve offending behaviour, and he is taking the practical steps to make this a reality with the support of ReRoute practitioners.”

How is our work faring?

Nationally, recorded knife crime has risen by 2% year-on-year.

Bucking the national trend, Essex has recorded a 5% decrease in knife-enabled crime year-on-year.

That’s 82 fewer incidents of knife-enabled crime in Essex year-on-year, with a total of 1,449 incidents recorded in the 12 months to Thursday 15 May.

We’ve seen a sustained fall in knife-related offending, with a 12% reduction in incidents of knife-enabled crime when compared with pre-Covid levels (the 12 months to December 2019).

To continue pushing this number in the right direction, this week there’ll be a particular focus on retailers and the sale of knives.

We’ll be visiting dozens of shops across Essex, from big chains to independent retailers, to ensure knives are stored, handled and sold legally and to continue to encourage businesses to sign up to our Responsible Retailers Agreement.

This pledge commits businesses to ensuring they adhere to a number of key points around the sale of knives.

Almost 50 businesses across the county are now signed up to the agreement.

Utilising our volunteer police cadets, we’ll also be conducting test purchases at shops across the county to ensure businesses are adhering to the agreement.

We’re aware of the challenges around the online sale of knives and we’ll be continuing to work with our Border Force colleagues around the importation of weapons from oversees.

Our officers will be focused on enforcement too, with a particular drive towards removing bladed weapons from the streets of Essex.

Teams of officers will be conducting sweeps of areas identified by data to have links to recent incidents of weapons offences.

They will also be deploying our weapons detection system OpenGate in areas across Essex.

We have well-advertised knife bins in place at police stations and easily accessible locations across Essex.

When they were last emptied in March this year, thousands of knives were recovered.

‘Every knife taken off our streets is a victory’

DCI Hughes said:

“That’s thousands of knives that could otherwise do harm, removed from our streets and taken on to be destroyed.

“Our knife bins and our continued work to see weapons surrendered and taken from offenders is having a really positive impact.

“I often talk about the good work officers across the force are undertaking to target knife crime, we dedicate a lot of our resources to this issue.

“The figures show us that knife-enabled crime – often some of the most serious offending we see – is on the decline. This is a positive.

“But that doesn’t mean the figures we are seeing are acceptable, one incident is one too many.

“This week highlights the work we’ll be undertaking to bring partners on board to tackle this issue at the source, in education and the criminal justice system, but also our businesses too.

“It takes all of us to make an impact.

“I’m also clear that although this week heightens the focus, this activity is going on all year round at Essex Police and across our partnership work through the VVU.”

Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, said:

“Knife crime devastates lives, families, and communities. During Sceptre, we are reinforcing our commitment to tackling this issue.

“Young people across Essex have told us that fear of knife violence is real and impacts their daily lives. That’s why we’re investing in early intervention, education, and community-led initiatives through our Violence and Vulnerability Unit.

“These long-term preventative efforts deliver benefits 3.5 times greater than their cost by steering people away from crime and has delivered a 5% decrease in knife-enabled crime in Essex since April 2024.

“We must keep having the tough conversations, support those at risk, and work together to make our streets safer. Prevention is key—every life deterred from violence is a life potentially saved.”

This article originally appeared on Essex Police and was republished with permission.