How did a Croydon project help tackle knife crime?

Project 4 Youth Empowerment

Big Local Broad Green played a pivotal role in supporting the Croydon-based organisation, Project 4 Youth Empowerment (P4YE) in delivering impactful workshops that helped young people address the issue of knife crime. 

P4YE is committed to supporting young people through a range of services including 1:1 and group mentoring, youth and holiday clubs, engaging workshops, and detached youth work.

They were awarded a £3,590 grant from Big Local Broad Green for their project which proved to be a success. The project resulted in P4YE engaging Croydon Councillor, Ola Kalede for community safety on a podcast to discuss issues of serious youth violence. 

P4YE surveyed 70 members of the Croydon community with 64% aged 10 - 16. 36.4% expressed that they did not feel safe due to reasons such as young people with weapons, lack of community feel, and lighting issues. 34.5% said they felt safe because of factors such as having grown up in the area, feeling safe in the area, and there being several police. 

The project allowed for the participants to be educated on conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, and the consequences of knife crime. It also showed that when young people feel supported and valued, they are less likely to turn to crime. 

The feedback from some of the participants was very positive. One young person said: "I think the workshops are a positive contribution to the club as it spreads awareness about the dangers." They added that the workshops have made them feel much safer as they know what to do; it has given them guidance on the steps to take to be safer. 

Another participant said: "I think the workshops have been quite beneficial. 

"We're learning about the severity of knife crime and the repercussions of it." 

When asked what their advice would be if one of their friends said they want to start carrying a knife, they responded, "My advice would be to speak to someone, tell them how you're truly feeling and try to get the best advice possible."

It is encouraging to know that young people are walking away from this experience with the tools to make smarter and safer choices.