Knife crime uncovered

23 July 2010

During 2009/10, LJMU and Merseyside Police collaborated on a unique approach to knife crime reduction across the region funded by the Home Office Tackling Knives and Serious Youth Violence Action programme (TKAP).

The ‘knife crime uncovered’ initiative was developed to provide new insights into knife crime viewed from differing academic perspectives and then using that learning to change the way the police and partners tackle the issue.

LJMU Journalism student, Chloe Garfoot, was awarded first prize following keen competition from a number of other undergraduates. Chloe’s work focused on whether the reporting of knife crime by the media matched the actual level of crime experienced in communities. She concluded that ‘moral panic’ was experienced where reporting was misleading or insensitive, often leading to increased fear within communities.

Chloe’s research made a number of observations including proposals for more face to face meetings between the police and journalists which is now being considered by a number of press offices to move the matter forward.

Knife Crime Uncovered has strengthened LJMU, student and police relationships and has led to further postgraduate research in the area of serious youth violence. In addition, stronger relationships have been forged between both organisations resulting in Merseyside police officers becoming World of Work (WoW) assessors within the Graduate Development Centre of the University.

Superintendent Simon Irving, the lead Police Officer for the programme said: "Knife crime uncovered has been a fantastic programme for us. It has challenged us to think differently on how we tackle knife crime on Merseyside. We have also benefited in further developing our strong partnership with the University with many more initiatives being planned for the future. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all students who participated for their hard work and commitment during the programme."

The second prize went to Rachel Kennedy, BA (Hons) Media and Cultural Studies, who graduates on Wednesday 14 July. Rachel’s research compared the culture of knife carrying in Liverpool with other cities concluding that we are one of the safest cities in the UK.

Pictured:
(Above) Journalism Tutor Jackie Newton, Inspector Mark Wiggins from Merseyside Police, prize-winning journalism graduate Chloe Garfoot and Deborah Pownall from LJMU's Graduate Development Centre.
(Below) Rachel Kennedy with Inspector Mark Lawes