Polmont YOI

Pre release Session- Knife Crime

“Reducing the Risks of Violence in the Community”               

“Scotland is scarred by the booze and blade culture. Knife crime will not be tolerated and knife crime will be severely punished”

Cabinet Secretary for Justice Kenny MacAskill

Our response to tackling the current knife culture in our society has resulted in us working closely with the Violence Reduction Unit and running several initiatives within the prison to highlight a “zero tolerance” approach to violence.

As part of our ongoing developments we have identified a need to engage Young Offenders in a 2-hour knife crime awareness session immediately prior to release. This will take the form of a one off group work session delivered by the Prisons Interventions Team. It is hoped that this initiative will compliment other work being done in the prison as part of our multi disciplinary approach to tackling offending behaviour.

During the session it is hoped that Young Offenders will increase their knowledge in the following areas

• To gain an understanding of why young people carry knives and explore issues that may result in a reduction of these numbers

• To increase knowledge of the risks associated with carrying a knife and the impact on victims

• To gain an insight into “high risk situations” and how these are linked to violent behaviour

• To understand the importance and benefits of leading an active pro social lifestyle and planning for release from prison

We welcome any support in helping us to develop our Knife Crime session in hope that we can make our society a safer place to live.