Could Idris Elba’s solution help tackle knife crime?

Actor Idris Elba took to the airwaves on the Today programme this morning to call for more to be done to tackle the scourge of knife crime in Britain. Elba asked the government to speed up the ban on the sale of machete and ‘zombie’ knives to prevent more young people dying in knife attacks. Few will disagree with Elba’s practical solution for tackling this issue. It is, at least, more likely to succeed than some of the more fashionable solutions – particularly so-called ‘public health’ approaches – which are occasionally suggested as a solution to knife crime.

The rhetoric of a ‘public health’ solution to violence is very popular amongst people who dislike the idea of putting criminals in jail, or stopping and searching suspects. They think, perhaps in some vague social democratic way, that social workers can sort out the majority of criminal behaviour, if only the government would spend enough money.