Idris Elba has called for kitchen knives to have their ends rounded off in a bid to tackle the UK’s violent gang situation.
Talking ahead of the release of his documentary Idris Elba: A Year Of Knife Crime later this year, the 52-year-old actor made a number of recommendations to help bring an end to knife crime.
The Luther star said that whilst banning the sale of zombie knives was a positive step in tackling the issue, he also believed ninja swords should be outlawed and suggested kitchen blades have their sharp point removed.
He told the BBC: ‘Not all kitchen knives need to have a point on them, that sounds like a crazy thing to say. But you can still cut your food without the point on your knife, which is an innovative way to look at it.’
Mr Elba’s new documentary sees the British actor spend 12 months investigating the reality of the UK’s knife crime situation.
During the programme, the man famed for playing Stringer Bell in The Wire met with victims’ families, police officers and teenage offenders for an in-depth dive into the issue.
Britain’s knife crime emergency has seen a total of 507 children treated in English hospitals for knife injuries in the 12 months to April 2024, according to the latest figures analysed by the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF).
To combat the situation, England and Wales banned zombie knives and machetes in September, making it illegal to make, transport, sell, or possess them.
Following the sentencing of the teenager who murdered three young girls in Southport, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the Government would bring in tougher checks for people trying to buy knives online.
Mr Elba described the September ban as a ‘massive step in the right direction’, but believed schools could intervene in young people’s lives earlier to stop them ‘going towards a dark place’.
He emphasised that teachers might focus more on preteen and early teen students by using disciplinary measures like school exclusions.
The award-winning screen star even believes young people in London gangs are ‘not big and scary’, adding it is ‘sad’ that society has ‘turned our back on them’.
Mr Elba said: ”We are still in crisis. Numbers fluctuate and the types of crime vary. But I still think this country is in a crisis point. We need to intervene or it’s going to get worse.
Knife crime is a serious problem, not only in London, but in outer counties as well. The police could use the stop-and-search approach, and there needs to be more rigid penalties in court, but we simply don’t have the room in prisons anymore.
Anyone caught on the street with a knife ought to be taken into custody right away. The problem is that they play the racial card when it’s a person of colour, but we must be able to stop and search these guys wearing gloves, balaclavas, and hoodies.
The problem is that our government has permitted it to happen. Kids are allowed to do as they please because parents have no control over them anymore. Parents are not allowed to discipline their children anymore; that was taken away from them a long time ago.
These kids are allowed to roam the streets in groups, and they are bored, there is nothing for them to do, and many turn to alcohol or drugs. We need to channel their inner creative minds, but there are no youth clubs anymore, they have almost all been taken away.
There’s nothing out there to suppress their boredom, and more needs to be done for these youths. I am not saying it would take away all criminality, but at least some of it. What we do need to do is reach out to these kids and be a positive role model for them.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 