Nottingham police commander worried carrying knives is now ‘social norm’ for young people

Supt Chris Pearson, area commander for the city, made the comments following three separate high-profile knife crime incidents in the space of a week.

These included a stabbing at Nottingham’s Primark store on February 23, a fight involving machetes in Lower Parliament Street on February 27, and another stabbing near Nottingham Castle the following day.

During a Nottingham City Council meeting on March 5 – during which work to reduce crime was discussed – Supt Pearson sought to reassure local councillors following the incidents.

He said: “We take knife crime extremely seriously and it is one of the top priorities for our force and all of our partners.

“We have a dedicated knife crime team, a sergeant with six constables, who are out on our streets every day.

“We are now leaving our neighbourhood police officers on their areas to do neighbourhood policing.

"That means they are ultimately left to solve those complex problems that we’ve got and when we talk about knife crime it is an incredibly complex issue.

“We are working together with parents, partners, schools, youth services, social care, but we also stand absolutely ready to lock those individuals up and take them off the streets as well.

“The most concerning thing for me, the culture out there, among young people in particular, is that it is ‘okay’ to carry knives.

"It seems to have become a social norm.

"My priority is how do we work together to change that.”

The meeting was held to discuss the Nottingham Community Safety Partnership’s (NCSP) annual progress report.

The partnership is responsible for reducing crime, and is made up of various organisations including the police, fire service, council and probation service.

According to the report, offences identified by Nottinghamshire Police as knife crime actually fell by eight per cent in the 12 months to December 2024, which is around 37 fewer crimes in the last year.

Nottinghamshire Police says this includes fatalities and hospitalisations.

Paddy Tipping, former Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner and NCSP chair, said: “Partnership working is really strong, particularly with colleagues in the city council.

“We know it’s an issue, we know it is a reputational issue for the city. Figures are going in the right direction but there is certainly much more to be done.”

Coun David Mellen (Lab), former leader of the council, asked that more visible officers be stationed within outer-city centre communities.

Supt Pearson said named officers will be placed in neighbourhoods to increase presence.

He added: “I certainly believe Nottingham is a safe city, it is a safe place for people to live, work and visit, but I want them to know we are very robust in our approaches.”

A 16-year-old boy has been arrested and charged in relation to the Primark incident, and is due to appear before the courts this month.

He is on strict bail conditions that include not entering the city centre.

Two boys, aged 16 and 14, who cannot be named for legal reasons, both appeared at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on March 5 following the incident in Lower Parliament Street.

The 16-year-old was charged with three counts of affray, three counts of possession of a bladed article and possession with intent to supply a class A drug.

He has pleaded guilty to all offences and will be sentenced on April 2.

The 14-year-old has been charged with three counts of affray, three possessions of a bladed article and breaching his bail conditions.

He has pleaded guilty to one count of affray and not guilty to the other offences and his next court hearing is on May 21.