MPs warn over knife 'arms race'

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The belief that blades are more widespread has prompted an "arms race" by young gang members, MPs said.

But older teenagers are using very young children to try to avoid being caught, the Home Affairs Committee found.

The MPs said they were "concerned" by the trend and called for police to launch a crackdown.

Making someone carry a knife was made illegal in 2007 with a maximum sentence of four years. But no-one was prosecuted for the offence that year. Figures for 2008 have not been released yet.

The committee's report into knife crime found steep increases in knife injuries in the last three years.

The MPs said most knife-carriers who are caught should be given prison sentences. Currently only one in five of those caught with a knife is jailed, and more knife carriers are given cautions than are imprisoned. In the last three months of last year 6,704 people were caught with a knife and only 1,386 were given an immediate custodial sentence.

Committee chairman Keith Vaz said youngsters did not feel protected by parents and the police. He said: "We are seeing a spiralling of the arms race as far as knife crime is concerned. Young people carry knives because they fear that others are carrying knives. This spiralling of knife possession puts all young people at risk. Too many tragic deaths have occurred because of this. We have to stop this arms race. Some young people feel the need to protect themselves with knives. We are clearly failing them. Children, of all people, should not feel unsafe in our society."

The "high levels" of knife violence in recent years is linked to gang violence, the MPs said. But cutting the supply of knives is unlikely to stop knife violence because most stabbings are carried out with kitchen knives, they said.

The committee called for more prison programmes to tackle offending behaviour and "interventions" with young people in danger of more serious offending. These should even involve "babies" and "toddlers" from dysfunctional families, the MPs said.