Conclusion: Still Policing the Crisis?

Our conclusion seeks to draw together the central themes of the book, returning to the key questions which prompted the original research into the ‘new knife crime’ phenomenon. We review the arguments of each chapter, noting the ways in which a new crime category was created which, over time, like ‘mugging’ and ‘gang-related’ offending before it, acquired some highly racialised overtones. We draw particular attention to the deviancy amplification process and the ways in which new laws, policing practices and media reporting constantly refreshed and recycled the ‘knife crime’ label. The conclusion closes by noting the seeming failure of police and criminal justice interventions to impact rates of knife violence, the late and limited incorporation of ‘public health’ and community centred inter-agency features within new knife crime reduction strategies, whilst reflecting upon the challenges facing the recently established Violence Reduction Units.