An investigation into knife crime in Greater Manchester

Nearly a third of all knife crime suspects in Greater Manchester last year were teenagers, new figures show.

Of the 2,756 suspects in 2021, 842 were aged 13-19.

The data – revealed by Greater Manchester Police following a Freedom of Information request - also shows that the age with most suspects was 15-years-old, with 154.

The oldest suspect was 89 while, surprisingly, the youngest were two children marked aged ‘0’.

This data follows earlier figures published by the Office for National Statistics which showed that Greater Manchester is responsible for more than half the serious knife offences in the north west.

Manchester saw a total of 3,326 serious offences involving a knife in the year ending September 2021.

This is far more than nearby Merseyside which saw 1,291, Lancashire with 958 and Cheshire with 530 for the same year.

Early Break is a Greater Manchester based support service for young people who use drugs and alcohol, but also young people who struggle with emotional and mental health difficulties.

Janine Day, the operations manager at Early Break said: “I think it’s such a complex issue area, I generally route it my starting back at them as a child and thinking of some of those basic human needs- love and acceptance

“As young people grow up, it’s about do they grow up in stressful environments and family life-what’s been the impact of that stress?”

She went on to question whether children that have not had the basic needs met from a young age, explore other ways to find this in people that influence them down the route of risk-taking behaviour.

She said another factor is the austerity of opportunities available.

“It’s not just about the emotional health and wellbeing, it’s about what opportunities they have,” she said.

“Children and young people have had these taken away from them, they don’t have a lot of youth service provision, so what they do can end up progressing into antisocial behaviour.

“There’s also a protection factor, young people on the whole don’t feel safe anymore, whether that’s peer groups, peer pressures or other things.

“Some may have been victims of crime, there’s a lot of research showing that victims of crime are more likely to go on and carry a weapon in order to protect yourself.

“There’s no one solution to it.”

Abdikarim Abdalla Ahmed, who was 18-years-old, was killed on March 11 on a busy street Bury town Centre in broad daylight- the person charged with his murder is only 16-years-old.

Three other teenagers, one aged 15 and the others 17 were also arrested.

The four teenagers cannot be named for legal reasons.

Abdikarim’s mother said in a statement issued by GMP: “My beautiful boy Abdi passed away far too young and with his whole life ahead of him, he was taken from us too soon, and in the worst possible way.

“My boy was a victim of knife crime, I beg all parents to speak to their children and know what’s going on in their lives, before their child is taken away.”

This tragic death is just one example of the devastating effects knife crime can have on young people and their families.

Greater Manchester’s violence reduction unit is tackling the issue from multiple angles, one of which includes the Navigator programme.

The campaign involves hospitals contacting the ‘navigators’ when a young person presents with injuries of violence, including knife wounds or other similar injuries.

A navigator will then attend the hospital and try to build a trustful relationship in order to try to understand what issues in the life of the young person have ultimately led to them being in that situation, and then trying to tackle it and support them.

They are also working with border control in order to identify packages which are carrying weapons and stop them entering the country and subsequently visiting the households the packages are destined for to enforce the law.

Deputy Mayor, Baroness Beverley Hughes PC, said: “Two years ago, in spot month, we intercepted about 60 weapons with this operation.

“In August this year, we intercepted only six- so there’s been a real impact in terms of word getting out that we’re on the lookout, we’re going to follow up those weapons, and we are going to apprehend the people who are buying them.”

Another approach to tackle knife crime is those done by charities.

Youth Charter was founded in Manchester by Geoff Thompson MBE and was set up to use sport to encourage young people away from violence.

He set the charity up while he was an ambassador for the Manchester 2000 Olympic bid and a shooting occurred of a 14-year-old school boy was shot and killed in Moss Side.

Addressing the killing, Thompson said: “It was the culmination of disaffection and disadvantage in an area of historical deprivation- the murder brought to the fore the extreme levels of poverty and gang culture that has always existed through-out time.

“I myself have come from my own unique journey of disaffection and discovered martial arts, karate.

“So, I had a discussion with the leaders at the time and they gave me the opportunity to launch a youth charter.

“And it would simply provide an opportunity for young people to develop, not to win, to develop in life their mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.”

Thompson added: “The glamorisation and ‘celebritisation’ of gang culture takes it to a level where it becomes common place.”

Youth charter now operates globally to encourage children from all backgrounds into sports and to ‘engage, equip and empower’ them.

Kenneth Gayle, a former professional footballer, left a testimonial to the ‘absolutely fabulous’ work Geoff Thompson and the Youth Charter do on their website.

He spoke about how he contacted Thompson when he became worried for his brother, Andrew.

His brother had been a promising football player and was on track to secure a place at their local club, Oldham Athletic, but was unable to due to a string of continuous injuries.

Kenneth reached out to Geoff and received support from him.

He said in the testimonial: “Without his beloved sport ‘family’ he lost his purpose, discipline and focus and was beginning to go down the wrong track.

“Frequent brushes with the police meant that a long period in prison was becoming a realistic prospect- for someone who had never been in trouble before this was very worrying.

“As a result of this comprehensive package, my brother was able to secure a long and successful career in the sport he loved.”