‘We are looking at knife crime as if it’s an infectious disease’
SURGEONS TREATING STAB VICTIMS HAVE SEEN A ‘SURGE’ IN THE ‘BRUTALITY OF ATTACKS’ DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
YOUTH workers offering a lifeline to young people caught up in knife crime believe it’s an “infectious disease” which should be treated in a similar way to Covid-19.
Charity Redthread has just celebrated its third anniversary of working in the A&E department at the Queen’s Medical Centre.
During the pandemic, they have worked with more than 100 people, some of whom have presented at the hospital with multiple knife wounds.
Once medics have operated on the young person, the team of youth workers step in and offer them a host of support to change their lives.
They said the number of repeat admissions has dropped as a result but there are major concerns that youth unemployment after the pandemic could see street violence rise again.
Surgeons at the East Midlands Major Trauma Centre, at the QMC, said there has been a surge in the “brutality” of attacks.
From July 4 to September 12 last year, surgeons had to save 50 victims who had come through their department with major stab wounds.
Instead of one or two stab wounds, surgeons have saved the lives and limbs of victims with up to 11 injuries.
The youngest was 13, with one Nottingham man needing 36 operations after being stabbed three times last year.
John Poyton, chief executive of Redthread, which supports young people aged 11 to 25, believes the surge in stabbings during the pandemic could be down to county lines.
That is where children as young as 11 are being taken from deprived estates in Nottingham and put in crack and heroin houses across the country.
Police have found around 20 Nottinghamshire children in Scotland, Oxford, London, Newquay, Skegness and Sleaford in Lincolnshire during the pandemic.
Organised crime gangs often use children so those running the operation don’t get caught, paying them £100 to £200, and using intimidation and violence to keep them silent.
Dedicated mobile phone lines are set up so that drug orders can be placed. Mr Poyton told the Post: “We are looking at the trends around county lines and drugs and the way that organised crime has changed.
“I think that might be behind some of the spikes we saw.
“Young people were not travelling in the same way on public transport because it was obvious – travelling on a train when no-one else was on them.
“They had to change their ways – and then when lockdown eased, more rivalries came back.
“We don’t talk about gangs and knife crime. They are children and young people.
“They do not need to be labelled as a gang member, perpetrator or victim. There are a lot more nuances. I think exploitation has changed and that is when we see spikes.”
But he says not every young person with knife injuries is linked to criminality.
Some of the backstories are around youth rivalries which can range from an ongoing argument played out over social media or someone sticking up for a sibling.
Redthread, which started in London, was introduced in Nottingham three years ago, celebrating its three-year anniversary on March 26.
It was set up after medics kept
seeing the same people coming back to the QMC with knife injuries.
They have now moved into all violent incidents. This means they can intervene if a young person comes through the department after being badly beaten, stopping the next time they arrive in A&E with possible knife injuries.
Young people were also using excuses such as “I just fell on broken glass” because they were in pain and “just wanted to get it fixed and move on”.
Now, youth workers can build trust with the young person and offer them a range of support to ensure they don’t end up back in hospital again.
From February 28, 2020, to January 31 this year, the team worked with 106 young people who presented at Queen’s Medical Centre.
He said: “Our key measure of success is looking at the young people that come back.
“We look at three months, six months, one year down the line. Some of them will come back. It is not about banning them but reintroducing the offer. Sometimes people need to be offered something a number of times before they take it up. “We want to cut that repetitive cycle of injury, which then cuts the risk, the offending behaviour and the consequences. “There has been a lot about flattening the curve with Covid but we want to do the same with violence. When we see them at hospital that is the far end of the bell curve. “We are looking at it like an infectious disease. With Covid, we wash our hands and wear masks and there is a vaccine. With knife crime, we need to make sure young people are in education, have hopes and aspirations.
“But one of the issues on the back of Covid is unemployment, especially youth unemployment. What will that mean? Will we see more violence and criminality? “People might want to earn legitimate money but these opportunities are not there. Having a job and making people stay in school – it will reduce knife crime in the community – and stop the crisis later down the road.”
There has been a lot about flattening the curve with Covid. We want to do the same with violence John Poynton, Redthread