Knife crime named leading policing issue for young people in new survey

Commissioned by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) Youth Panel, more than 2,600 people, from each of the 43 police force areas across England and Wales, responded to the survey, an increase of more than 33 per cent compared with last year.

The results, published this week, show almost half of young people named either knife crime (26 per cent) or drug dealing (20 per cent) as their top policing priority. Other key areas to focus on highlighted in the survey were sexual violence (13 per cent), young people (nine per cent), and violence (eight per cent).

Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show offences involving knives or sharp instruments have decreased by five per cent (to 51,527 offences) compared with the year ending June 2024 (54,215 offences). Knife-enabled robbery also fell, by eight per cent, compared with the previous year.

The results of the survey come as the IOPC’s Youth Panel publishes its 2030 Manifesto for Change, setting out its recommendations designed to drive change within policing and the police complaints system, in ways that will make improvements for young and vulnerable people.

They include: creating a new mechanism to allow community groups to make a complaint on behalf of groups of people with shared experiences; suggesting reforms to the complaints process, such as an online dashboard system, to make it more accessible; and working with police and schools to ensure young people better understand the police complaints system and how to use it.

Youth Panel member Harriet Smith said: “Work about young people can’t be done without input from young people. The IOPC need your voice to improve policing and the police complaints system.

“This is a chance to share your thoughts and experiences to make a visible change happen nationally.

“That change can’t happen without hearing the voices of the people it impacts. We want to give young people a chance to help shape policing for themselves and future generations.”

IOPC Director of Engagement Amanda Rowe said: “This week’s announcement represents an important milestone for the Youth Panel. It is key that the views of young people are heard by police forces across the country.

“The survey is an eye-opening insight into how young people view the police and the scale of the task in front of us.

“The Panel plays an important role in shaping our work when it comes to young people and as we aim to ensure more of them can have confidence in the police.

“We stand ready to help the Youth Panel in this vital work, starting with acknowledging the concerns raised in the survey.”

Independent of the IOPC, the Youth Panel, created in 2018, is made up of 42 young people aged 16 to 25 from diverse communities across England and Wales.

Speaking to other young people, alongside research and consultation with those working across policing and the complaints system, they work to identify ways to increase young people’s trust and confidence in both policing, and the police complaints system. The Panel meets with the IOPC on a regular basis to inform our understanding of policing matters that affect young people.

The work of the Panel is youth-led at every stage. The process was facilitated by social enterprise Leaders Unlocked, which works to empower and enable young people to have a voice on the issues which affect them.

The results also show declining confidence in the police among young people (59 per cent reported having a fair amount or great deal of confidence in their local police, down from 66 per cent), although the proportion who say they would go to police if they were a victim of crime has remained broadly the same as last year (70 per cent).

Just over half of young people said they believe police in their area treat young people fairly.

One of the measures proposed by the Youth Panel to tackle this is compulsory use of body-worn video by police, and training for all officers on trauma-informed approaches, neurodiversity and mental health.