Charity welcomes knife crime campaign in London

A London-based knife crime prevention charity has welcomed a Home Office campaign to help tackle the issue in Westminster and Croydon.

The No Place for Knives campaign will be piloted in parts of the capital and in Birmingham, and include adverts at Tube stations, bus stops, on social media and a mural at Boxpark Croydon.

It seeks to raise awareness of increased police activity, including metal detection, additional foot patrols and live facial recognition.

Patrick Green, CEO of the Ben Kinsella Trust, said the campaign reflected the experiences of young people and hoped it encouraged safer choices and prevented violence.

Green said that young people in London were "disproportionately fearful of knife crime".

"Research that we have done shows that six out of 10 young people in London are fearful of knife crime where they live and socialise," he said.

He said the campaign hoped to show the work that was being done on the issue and give a message of reassurance to young people that knife crime was taken seriously.

"Posters are only highlighting the work that is being done," he said.

"Knife crime is a complex issue. Of course it needs strong enforcement, and we are seeing this in terms of policing.

"Behind this sits a lot of work being done by organisations such as the Ben Kinsella Trust and many others working directly with young people to help keep them safe and break the myths that exist around knife crime - particularly that you need to carry a knife to protect yourself."

According to data from the Met Police, there were 717 recorded knife crime offences in Westminster between April 2025 and March 2026, a 29% decrease on the year before.

And in Croydon, there were 619 recorded knife crime offences between April 2025 and March 2026, a 21% decrease on the year before.

Recorded knife crime dropped across London during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Green said: "Westminster and Croydon have been highlighted as areas where there has been significant historic knife crime.

"So it's right that we should test these pilots in these areas. I fully expect these pilots to be a success and then I would like to see them rolled out across London."

Cdr Pete Stevens of the Metropolitan Police said officers worked "tirelessly" to combat the "senseless violence" of knife crime in the capital.

"We will continue to target violent criminals who threaten our communities," he said.

Westminster and Croydon, along with 16 other boroughs in Greater London, have received more than £8.1m for targeted knife crime interventions through the Home Office's Knife Crime Concentrations Fund.

Sarah Jones, Policing and Crime Minister said the Home Office was working with police to "target knife crime where it causes the greatest harm".

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