Prison does not scare teenagers - for them, it is like a 'badge of honour', says Nottinghamshire Police careers advisor Nigel Best. It comes as machetes and other knives designed to look menacing and with no practical use are set to be banned under new proposals published by the Home Secretary and Policing Minister on Tuesday, April 18.
The consultation, which will run for seven weeks, seeks to outlaw certain machetes and so-called ‘zombie style’ knives that aren’t currently banned under legislation and proposes to increase maximum penalties for their sale and possession. And Mr Best has spoken out amid concerns that carrying a knife has become a "trend" among young people.
He holds a seven-week programme with teenagers who have been caught either using or carrying a knife. "The course acts like a deterrent, and they [the teenagers] are referred by their case manager.
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"It is a huge problem", he added. "A lot of children are still carrying knives because it is a trend."
He said that depending on their area and the group they tend to hang out with, teenagers may be more likely to carry a knife. But it is also the social media, he explained, that weighs in.
"Young people use social media a lot," said Mr Best. "They are buying a lot of knives via social media and they are influenced by Tik Tok.
"They watch some horrible videos on YouTube and they share stuff around."
The careers advisor continued: "I saw a video that a lad thought it was great to see - a pig running around the farm and somebody getting a machete and chopping pig's head off.
"The pig ran around for several seconds before it dropped dead. And they are watching these videos and worse videos thinking it is quite cool."
He added: "It is literally a trend so much that young people are engrossed in it. They are looking at who they mix with.
"If you look at young people who have a strict parent or they have good support nework, and children who are like-minded, they think about doing their homework and going to university. So stuff like this will not even enter their mind at all."
He said that sometimes talking to young people about knife crime can have an adverse effect. "Children from certain areas have probably never thought about it, but you have gone in and started talking about it and showing them the wrong sort of video. And then they get scared."
Mr Best has shared his concerns, adding: "This is from my police background - there are things happening every day that do not even get reported. And we are actually one of the two forces in the UK that has an actual knife crime team - one in Mansfield and another one in the city."
He said that, despite the police work that goes into educating young people about knife crime, "it still has not made a difference when it comes to dropping it". He added: "I just think we need a different approach. We need a bit more empathy with young people; we have all been young once ourselves, but I just think that if we were in that position, we would probably be doing the same thing.
"There has always been violence - but maybe in the past people might have used their fists or a knuckle duster, or a baseball bat. But nowadays, it is a trend in society itself."
Most young people argue that they only carry a knife for protection, and they would not be using it, recalled Mr Best from his conversations with teenagers on the course. "We are trying to change their mindset," he added.
"It makes them feel safe. Somebody told me that if somebody pulls a knife out at them, and they also put a knife out, that person would just walk away. But if someone has a knife when the other one does not - it makes them feel more powerful."
He told Nottinghamshire Live: "From parental support and friendship groups - that is the thing that is going to stop them carrying knives. Prison does not scare young people.
"A lot of them have been through youth prisons and things like that and they will glorify it. It is like a badge of honour."
Zoe Cooke, who lost her son to a fatal stabbing in Ilkeston on Sunday, July 4, 2021, has also shared her concerns. The grieving mum has since built a legacy in her son's name, Byron Griffin, who died from stab wounds aged 22.
Ms Cooke is now working tirelessly to try to provide as many bleed kits as she can around Nottinghamshire, in the hope of saving lives through the vital pieces of equipment. She believes that young people need "role models" and better education to stop them from "being dragged into these kind of lifestyles".
"It will be two years in July [since Byron's death] - and it still devastates you," she added. "It is something that you just cannot get over. My life stood still the day Byron died.
"I still constantly think about him every moment of the day. Still, at some point of the day, nearly two years after, I will cry at some point.
"It is the hardest thing that I can describe because I cannot put it into words. I kind of replay it in my head 10 to 15 times - I can see the ambulance in the air, and there are so many triggers that people do not realise that happened to you throughout the day.
"I can be peeling a potato, and I can be holding a knife in my hand and and I will start panicking because I will be thinking - this is what killed my son. Suddenly I just wonder if these children realise that Byron, at 22-years-old, was still my baby.
"You would not think to go over and kill someone's baby, but that's what they have done. You have stabbed my baby.
"And they may not feel like they have stabbed a baby when they have stabbed an adult, but they actually have because they have stabbed someone's baby."
She shared her emotional story, adding: "It is such a waste. And people turn a blind eye to it and I feel like nobody really cares about it until it happens to them.
"I have not got Byron now but all I can do is to keep his memory alive and do some good out of it. I just do not want the thought of other mums going through whta I am going through.
"It breaks my heart every time I see another stabbing. I think that another mum is going to go through this now for the rest of their life."
She has backed the government's proposals, adding: "I think it is really really good. I think it is good that they are bringing the maximum penalties, and I just hope the court will use what they are given. I think it is fantastic."
In her announcement on April 18, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: “The thugs wielding these deadly knives aim to terrorise their victims and the public, and too often even carry out horrific or fatal attacks. They are emboldened by the cowardly idea that carrying these blades inflates their own status and respect.
“This can’t go on. These plans seek to give the police greater powers to seize and destroy these weapons and impose harsher penalties on the criminals selling them, keeping them off our streets and making communities safer.”
Policing Minister Chris Philp said: “Too often we hear from towns across England & Wales that another life has been lost to violence, often using large knives that have no legitimate use.
"It is time that we move to ban these dangerous weapons, which is the process we are starting today. We are also consulting on giving the police more powers to seize knives. This joined up approach will empower the police to take action against criminals and save lives.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Every life lost to knife crime is one too many. That is why we have today announced proposals to ban the sale and possession of zombie-style knives and machetes, as well as to introduce additional powers for the police and tougher penalties for the possession and sale of these weapons.
“Since 2019, we have removed 90,000 knives and offensive weapons from our streets through stop and search, surrender initiatives and other targeted police action.”
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