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What should I tell my child about knife crime?

Essex Police doesn't have the knife crime problems seen in other areas of the UK but we are committed to educating young people about knife crime through our 2SMART roadshows and our 2SMART Say No to Knives campaign in order to keep knife crime out of Essex.

Heightened media coverage might make young people think that everyone is carrying a knife and therefore they might be tempted to carry a knife themselves.

The chances are your child has talked about knives with friends or heard a story about the kid who carried a knife. Whilst many young people do not carry knives - it is still a conversation worth having with your child.

This can be a tricky conversation. But it is never a bad thing to talk and it's important to be clear that your child does have a choice, even when they think they may not.

Think about raising these points with your child:

By carrying a knife you:

have a false sense of security;
could be arming your attacker, increasing the risk of getting stabbed or injured;
are breaking the law.

Not carrying, and walking away from confrontation:

is what the vast majority do
is the tougher thing to do
means you'll be safer from serious harm and not breaking the law.

Information taken from the Home Office's guide to how to talk to your child about knives leaflet. For more information visit http://campaigns.direct.gov.uk/talkaboutknives

Essex is a safe county and doesn't have the knife crime problem seen in other areas of the UK.

What do you think about knife crime? We've all seen the news and heard the stories but we want to know your views about knife crime. Please be honest - this will help us understand more about knife crime in Essex.