Why we started No Knives Only Lives and how you can join in

When a young person slips a blade into their pocket, the stakes go far deeper than a headline. The cost is real. It touches lives, futures and communities in ways we often don’t see.

1. The Cost Doesn’t Begin at the Loss

On the surface, the danger is clear: an offence, an arrest, a life changed. But scratch below and you’ll find costs in trust, opportunity, identity.
Here are some of the facts:

• In the year ending March 2024, children (under 18) in England and Wales were involved in just over 3,200 knife or offensive weapon offences that resulted in a caution or sentence. 

• 99.7% of those offences were for possession, not assaulted with a knife. 

• Carrying a knife raises your risk of physical harm, arrest, and a criminal record that can block jobs, education and travel.
  These aren’t just numbers. They represent raw potential cut short, lives paused, futures rewired.