Community, Crime and Gangs

The Community Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV) is a multi-agency gang intervention programme designed to reduce gang violence and help those involved in gangs to live a life free of crime.

Having been successful in Boston and Cincinnati in the USA, and in Glasgow, the Northamptonshire CIRV project is the first time the programme has been run in England.

CIRV works with gang members to show them the consequences of the life they are choosing to lead and offering them an alternative pathway through mentoring, support, job opportunities and other change programmes.

One of CIRV’s key tools is a self-referral session, where gang members are addressed by people including police officers, doctors who treat serious injuries, ex-gang members and relatives of people killed by gang-related violence.

The session, delivered in a court room, is designed to show participants the negative consequences of the life they are currently leading, and show them how they can choose and be supported to live free of violence and drugs.

Anyone can refer into CIRV - whether that is someone who needs help themselves to get out of ‘gang life’ or someone who is concerned about someone they know.

Referrals can be made by calling 07539 183975 any time, day or night.

CIRV in Northamptonshire is being funded by a £627,000 Home Office grant from the Serious Youth Violence Early Intervention Fund. This was secured by the office of the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, supported by Northamptonshire Police.

Find out more about CIRV here

How can you protect your community against knife crime?

Charities that work to tackle violent crime all agree that the best way to tackle gangs, knife and gun crime is by preventing young people from joining a gang or carrying a weapon in the first place.

So, what can you do to prevent young people that you know from joining a gang or carrying a weapon?

Answer: Start a conversation.

There are many reasons why people will get caught up in knife crime: they could be involved in criminality, they might think a knife will protect them but instead it gets used against them, or they might just be in the wrong place at the wrong time. This is why knife crime is so difficult to address.

The Ben Kinsella Trust – set up by the family of the 16-year-old stabbed to death in Islington, north London in 2008 – has published an excellent guide to help adults discuss knife crime with children and young people. Written by a police officer, PC Ian Scanlon, this guide provides key facts about knife crime that you should share with young people as part of the conversation, and answers to many of the questions that young people are likely to ask. There’s also advice for young people themselves who might be worried about or already involved in knife crime.

Here are some key facts about knife crime:

It is a criminal offence to have in a public place any item that has a blade, or is sharply pointed. This includes scissors, kitchen knives and craft knives.
It is illegal for anyone under 18 to buy a knife of any sort.
It is not legal to carry a knife for self-defence.
If you are caught by police carrying a knife, even if it was for your protection or you were carrying it for someone else, you will be arrested and prosecuted.
If you use a knife, even in self-defence, you could be charged with assault with intent, or even worse.
You can go to prison even if you didn’t use the knife. Click here to find out more about the penalties for possession and use of a knife.
Police can stop and search anyone they believe is carrying a knife.
Carrying a knife significantly increases your chances of getting stabbed yourself.
If someone is injured or killed by a knife in your presence, you could be prosecuted even if you didn’t touch the knife. You could even go to prison for murder in what is called ‘joint enterprise’.
There is no ‘safe place’ to stab someone. A wound in the arm or leg can still kill someone if an artery is severed.
If a knife punctures an artery you can bleed to death within five minutes.
A criminal record for knife use or possession can stop you from being accepted into college or university, and can make it much harder to get a job. Many countries will refuse to let you in, such as the USA, Canada and Australia.

Useful Documents

Community, Crime and Gangs

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