Public 'need data on weapons crime'

Channel Four's Street Weapons Commission, chaired by Cherie Blair, launched its report in a one-hour programme.

The body made a number of recommendations, including following Scotland by creating a Violence Reduction Unit, based in the Home Office, which would co-ordinate the various efforts to reduce street attacks. It also backed proposals to house young offenders in secure "academies", with access to education and health care, instead of mainstream prisons.

Commission members visited the five cities worst affected by gun and knife attacks: Liverpool, London, Birmingham, Glasgow and Manchester, as part of their research. They found most knife carriers went around with a weapon because they felt safer.

The report said "a thousand small victories" are needed to reduce street violence, and called on police and the Home Office to gather comprehensive data on knife crime - including among under-16s. Casualty departments must provide similar data, and schools must keep the government informed of pupils who have been excluded.

Currently, police figures provide an incomplete picture and conflict with the findings of the annual British Crime Survey, the report said.

The public should be able to access full data on gun and knife crime, as well as details of the punishment meted out in each case, it added.

And it said certain witnesses and victims involved in violent attacks must be given anonymity urgently.

The report also recommends providing lesson plans for teachers to discuss weapons with pupils, and better support for parents. And it highlights the need for better Government funding for youth activities.

The number of off-licences in each area should be restricted, the Commission says, and efforts redoubled to tackle underage drinking. There should also be greater emphasis on education for prisoners to curb re-offending, and an expansion of the use of restorative justice, where offenders can meet their victims to show remorse for their crime.