Every local authority area in Scotland is being given the opportunity to run Scotland’s award-winning anti-knife crime programme – No Knives, Better Lives (NKBL) – in a drive to continue reducing knife crime.

NKBL has worked with young people in 11 local authority areas to challenge attitudes to carrying and using knives and encourage positive life choices.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill announced £550,000 funding for the new campaign at a national launch event in Glasgow yesterday (14 May).

He said: “Since No Knives, Better Lives started in 2009, it has aimed to challenge attitudes to carrying knives and to work with young people to find alternatives to violence and make good decisions about their lives. There is no doubt that Scotland is a safer place than it was even a few years ago, with recorded crimes of handling an offensive weapon at their lowest level in 27 years, falling by 60 per cent since 2006/07, and violent crime at a 38-year low.

“Education and prevention is fundamental to tackling the root causes of violence and crime. That’s why the Scottish Government has provided more than £2 million of funding to No Knives, Better Lives in the past five years, and why we are committed to rolling out the programme across Scotland.

“Our priority is to change the culture in which some people think carrying a knife is acceptable, through education and enforcement. People thinking of carrying a knife need to know that they risk a significant custodial sentence and Scotland already has the toughest knife crime sentencing regime in the UK. Meanwhile, the current Criminal Justice Bill includes measures to increase the maximum penalties for knife possession from four to five years.”

The programme works with local partners, including councils, police and youth groups, to deliver activities in schools and communities.

Also attending the launch was Calum Muir whose daughter was murdered in Whitburn, West Lothian in 2010. Since Nattalie’s death, Calum has toured schools in West Lothian to discuss first-hand the dangers of carrying a knife.

He said: “Initiatives like No Knives, Better Lives are vitally important in making young people aware of the terrible consequences that carrying a knife can have. Having lost my daughter, if this campaign can help just one family not have to go through the same trauma, it will have been worthwhile. I really do welcome a national roll-out of the campaign.”

A key part of NKBL is training and use of peer educators; young people who deliver the initiative’s messages and help their peers have full, frank and informed discussions about the dangers and consequences of carrying a knife and the impact of knife crime. The programme’s 130 peer educators also work with young people to identify positive alternatives to violence.

Kevin Gillick, 17, from North Lanarkshire, said: “A big part of being a peer educator is going into schools and engaging with young people on the serious consequences of knife crime. When we run our sessions, young people are interested to hear what we have to say as it’s an issue that many have had to deal with or experienced in some way.”

YouthLink Scotland supports the NKBL campaign, providing administrative services through a national delivery team.

YouthLink Scotland chief executive Jim Sweeney said: “The success of No Knives, Better Lives is a powerful example of the positive impact that youth work can have in helping young people deal with difficult situations and make good decisions. We will continue supporting the campaign as it is rolled out across Scotland, working in partnership with the Scottish Government and local authorities.”

For more information please contact John Scott at Stripe Communications on 0131 561 8628 or email noknivesbetterlives@stripecommunications.com