Knife crime among young people has dropped by 12%

The latest figures show that knife crime among young people across Teesside has dropped by 12% in 2024.

The force’s ‘Carrying a Blade Doesn’t Give You an Edge’ campaign has been running since 2023 to encourage young people to understand the dangers and devastating consequences of carrying blades.

This year’s campaign, which ran from September to November, focused on two children whose lives are impacted and changed forever by knife crime – one child is the victim of a knife attack and the other the perpetrator committing the crime.

Both are living their daily lives and going to school until one day it all changes and the boys disappear from everyday life – one child has died after being stabbed with a blade and the other is in prison for committing the crime.

In order to tackle knife crime, we run pro-active operations throughout the year to target those involved in violent crime, such as Operation Artemis which took place in November, and Operation Sceptre - a national week of intensification runs twice a year with a strong focus on engagement with young people and education in schools.

Operation Deterrence runs all year round, with officers from each district’s Proactive Team carrying out both uniformed and plain clothed patrols in areas identified as high harm for violence. These operations see officers stop and search suspicious people in these areas, with anyone found to be in possession of a blade arrested and taken to police custody.

These targeted stop searches have shown an increase in those arrested on suspicion of possession of a bladed article, with 156 arrests in 2024 -up from 140 in 2023. This increase shows that we are targeting the right areas and the right people to remove knives and bladed weapons from the streets of Teesside.

This combination of action, education and engagement has helped see the number of young people aged 24 and under involved in knife crime reduce by 12% - from 305 offences between January and December in 2023 to 268 between January and December in 2024.

Assistant Chief Constable Richard Baker said: “The efforts of Cleveland Police and our partners are having a positive impact in reducing the number of knife related offences involving young people across Teesside. We acknowledge we all still have a long way to go and policing is only a small part of the whole response to knife crime.

“We will continue with everything we are currently doing to drive down the numbers of young people carrying knives, but we need parents, carers and our communities to work closely with us to show our younger generation that they can have a bright future if they ditch the blade.

“Evidence is clear that a child that carries a knife is more likely to become a victim of knife crime, whether that’s being seriously injured, or worse, lose their life. If they themselves use the knife, the reality is they will get caught and face a substantial amount of time in prison. This has serious implications for a person’s future when released back into the community. For example, future employment opportunities are reduced and freedom to travel often has restrictions.

“We work closely with partners to fully understand all of the contributing factors that lead to young people carrying a blade or causing serious violence. There are many agencies and charities who can provide support to keep young people away from knife crime, violence or drugs. This may include a referral to the Youth Offending Team who provide a range of services including finding ways to move away from a criminal life, build self-esteem and confidence and look at mental health related issues.

“Together we must all contribute to reducing knife-crime related violence among young people in our community and this will make Teesside an even safer place for young people to live and work now and in the future.”

To read more about our campaign, please visit: Carrying a blade doesn't give you an edge | Cleveland Police