Knife Crime Archives - Antser

Antser calls for change to tackle the rise of the knife crime pandemic

Corinna — Mon, 16 Aug 2021 15:33:04 +0000

Antser, a leading provider of innovative and transformational solutions to the health, education, and social care sectors, has called for urgent change to help deliver positive outcomes for young people by raising the awareness of knife crime.

Recent studies conducted by University College London (UCL) have revealed that nearly one in 10 boys have carried or used a knife, gun, or another weapon by the age of 17, demonstrating the ongoing impact of the knife pandemic.

In response to such statistics, Antser has found one tool which has proven successful in addressing the ever-pressing issue of gangs and knife crime is Virtual Reality (VR) technology.

During a recent ground-breaking pilot study with Ealing Council Youth Justice Service (YJS), Antser VR was used directly with young people already involved with the service, or known to them, and practitioners to directly impact and work to prevent Child Criminal Exploitation.

Using VR headsets and 360-degree immersive films designed by Antser, young people found themselves immersed in the experience of others, providing them with an opportunity to safely explore the issues of risk, how to identify it, how to avoid it and how to protect themselves, not just helping to increase their knowledge of exploitation but also to understand the real-life scenarios young people face around gangs and knife crime.

One practitioner involved in the pilot said: “I think the films and sessions supported the young people to identify the consequences that involving themselves with negative peers could have and was able to clearly show the process that a young person may go through. In each film, the young people could identify the risks and possible warning signs and could state how they would get themselves out of the situation.”

Gita Hargun, Antser’s Subject Matter Expert in Children’s Services, said: “I am privileged to have been able to be a part of this pilot with Ealing YJS and Antser as this has provided us with an opportunity to deliver intervention sessions in an innovative way.”

Jeffrey Wotherspoon, Antser’s Subject Matter Expert in Gangs, County Lines and Knife Crime, said: “VR provides a great platform for training professionals and carers working with young people in any capacity, around gangs, county lines and knife crime. It is a powerful tool that can be used to reflect and support best practice, as well as pick up on unconscious biases and how they can be challenged to develop appropriate empathy when working with young people.
“We can’t do this alone, which is why everyone in social care needs to come together and unite to tackle this issue. By simply raising awareness of the resources out there, it can help save a young person’s life from knife crime.”

Antser has developed hard-hitting immersive VR films depicting the realities of child criminal exploitation as part of its VR-enabled behaviour change programme for those working within children’s services, including education, health, local authorities and the police, in a bid to deliver positive change and improved outcomes for vulnerable children, adults, families and communities.

More information about Antser VR: http://18.168.228.101/antser-virtual-reality/

Learn more about our VR courses on offer: http://18.168.228.101/antser-learning/

The post Antser calls for change to tackle the rise of the knife crime pandemic appeared first on Antser.

The Knife Crime “Pandemic”: The Challenges, Misconceptions and Solutions – Part 2

Corinna — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 17:10:09 +0000

Part 2: The Knife Crime "Pandemic": The Misconceptions and Solutions

By Jeffrey Wotherspoon, Leadership Coach at Antser

This article is part of a series.
See Part 1: The Knife Crime “Pandemic”: The Challenges here

Jeffrey Wotherspoon is one of our Antser Subject Matter Experts in Gangs, County Lines and Knife Crime and an Executive Coach and Conflict Resolution Specialist. Jeffrey’s background is predominantly focused around youth work, with extensive experience in the criminal justice system. Over the years Jeffrey has worked on the frontline with some of the UK’s most vulnerable young people who were involved with gangs, county lines, and serious youth violence, as well as working with adult high-risk offenders.

Jeffrey currently works within Antser’s Virtual Reality teams using the technology as a new, innovative way to tackle gangs and knife crime successfully among young people and practitioners.

Knife crime soared following the ease of lockdown in summer 2020. As the Government announced its plan to gradually ease restrictions at the beginning of March 2021, concerns have been raised over a continuation of this trend.

One of the major misconceptions in relation to young people involved with gangs and knife crime is the misconception of ‘choice’ i.e. how much autonomy a young person would have to decide upon their involvement in a gang and/or carrying a knife.

I will highlight three misconceptions that speak to the various stages of joining a gang, and engaging in knife crime or other serious youth violence:

MISCONCEPTION 1:

Young people choose to be part of a gang. Young people have nothing better to do and therefore ‘choose’ to join a gang or they ‘choose’ to join gangs because they think it is ‘cool’.

MISCONCEPTION 2:

Young people involved in knife crime are all perpetrators. Young people ‘choose’ to stab each other because they are ruthless thugs and come from violent homes.

MISCONCEPTION 3:

Young people could leave a gang at any point in time if they chose to do so. Young people ‘choose’ to stay in gangs and would leave if they really want to.

Before I speak any further about the ‘choices’ of young people, I will outline 3 scenarios based on the 3 misconceptions and leave it to the readers to think about what ‘choice’ they would make. And truly, this is where Virtual Reality can help in understanding and empathising with the emotions of young people, who find themselves in these difficult situations. Our most recently developed VR immersive films depict the harsh reality of gangs and violence, and can immerse practitioners into specific scenes such as – the trap house, drug abuse, sexual abuse, gangs and knife crime.

Our Virtual Reality Films are professionally directed and structured to capture the entire experience of a young person involved in gangs and knife crime. To see actual footage of our films, please get in touch with us via hello@antser.com

Scenario 1:

You are 13 years’ old when the local gang in the area you live in approaches you and asks you join them, or they will consider you a rival. What would you choose?

Scenario 2a:

You are 15 years’ old when the ‘older ones’ (those with the greater status in your local gang) order you and a few others to ‘ride-out’ (go to a rival gang territory to initiate violence). They also make it clear that none of the gang members are to return to the area unless “there is blood on the shank”. What would you choose to do?

Scenario 2b:

If you ‘choose’ to ride-out, what would be your weapon of choice? a) Knife, b) Gun, c) Hammer, d) Other sharp instrument or e) Another weapon? Remember, whatever you choose you will need to be able to conceal it.

If you were ‘brave’ or naïve enough to go to a rival gang territory without any weapons, how would you explain it to a) your fellow gang members ‘riding out’ with you? and b) the ‘older ones’ who gave you the orders?

An important note to bear in mind is: You could make your gang the object of ridicule if it was known that “you went to ride out without any weapons”. This could have negative implications for the gang and therefore consequences for you.

Scenario 3:

You decide you want to leave the gang.

a) How will you do it?
b) What would you tell your fellow gang members?
c) What would you tell your rivals? An important note to bear in mind: There is risk of harm to you from both sides.

The scenarios above are what most would call a catch-22 situation. Young people do have to make choices, and they may find themselves in situations that whatever choice they make, risk is associated with it.

The misconception of ‘choices’ young people make or could make when facing a dangerous or difficult situation is just that – a misconception. These choices are not what perpetuate gangs and knife crime. Rather, it is the fear of being victimised by gangs and knife crime that perpetuates the choices.

Are there young people who the above scenario/s do not apply to, and they had opportunities to not engage in gangs and knife crime? Yes. This reflects another issue, as gangs and violence are a part of most, if not all communities.

A better question is: Would the majority of young people that are involved with gangs and knife crime not participate if there was no fear or the need for protection?
The answer is: No, it is highly unlikely.

From my own experience and that of working with Antser within the field, young people are often made or encouraged to attack others early on in their teens. By the time they are between 16-18 years’ old, they have done it so many times they have become desensitised to it. They may have also been a victim themselves or have friends that are victims, and, as a result, find themselves in a continuous cycle of violence, where it becomes more of a reactive (default) position than a proactive choice. There is a genuine belief amongst gangs that some violent episodes “have to happen”.

If you would like to learn more about using VR as a behaviour change tool within your practice, please get in touch with us at hello@antser.com.

The post The Knife Crime “Pandemic”: The Challenges, Misconceptions and Solutions – Part 2 appeared first on Antser.

The Knife Crime “Pandemic”: The Challenges, Misconceptions and Solutions – Part 1

Corinna — Wed, 24 Mar 2021 16:16:55 +0000

Part 1: The Knife Crime “Pandemic”: The Challenges

By Jeffrey Wotherspoon, Leadership Coach at Antser

Jeffrey currently works within Antser’s Virtual Reality teams using the technology as a new, innovative way to tackle gangs and knife crime successfully among young people and practitioners.

Knife crime in England and Wales has continuously increased since the year 2012. Only in the quarter leading to June 2020 did we see a 1% decrease, however this is not an indication of permanent change, as one would hope, but rather a reflection of the quarter leading to June 2020 – a period of national lockdown and social distancing, showing us that it was actually the Global Pandemic that could have led us to this outcome.

One of the main challenges professionals working with young people face is the rising numbers in knife possession. The alarmingly growing numbers of youth in the possession of knives, in addition to the existing resources being already stretched to contain these numbers, is making it more difficult to protect young people against gangs and violence.

I often come across young people who are involved in gangs and knife crime. When we speak, they confess that one of their biggest challenges is keeping out of harms’ way (should they choose to not carry a knife/sword/sharp object), and being fearful of those who are armed that could harm them if they do not possess a knife to defend themselves. At times, young people can be seen carrying swords: according to them, the bigger their weapon is, the more they are perceived as having the upper hand and therefore deterring their opponent from attacking them.

For parents and carers, the biggest challenge is feeling they cannot keep young people safe. Most parents are usually faced with the news of their children being involved in gangs and knife crime when something bad occurs. At times, they are inclined to believe what their children tell them: I have known parents to categorically deny any claim that their child is indeed involved with a gang, despite police intelligence, only to be stunned to silence in court when they are presented with CCTV evidence of the crime.

One tool that has proven successful in addressing the ever-pressing issue of gangs and knife crime is Virtual Reality (VR) technology. This is a unique tool that we use within Antser to enable the viewer to ‘feel’, through an immersive experience, how being in a ‘trap house’ environment, for example, can affect young people who are often groomed and/or coerced.

Still footage from “The Traphouse”, one of our immersive films.

Apart from getting practitioners incredibly close to a young person’s experience, VR is one of, if not the most effective tool in rapidly enhancing the empathy and understanding of a professional or carer through a ‘lived experience of the young person’.

This first-hand experience moves the user from a theoretical understanding of the issues relating to gangs and knife crime to a ‘real-life’ understanding, which closely mirrors the young person’s environment, fears and emotions.

Many people believe that young people are ‘making a choice’, and in return, those young people believe they do not have a choice. Many of the young people Antser works with, tell us they must carry a knife due to either their current or previous lifestyle, and believe they may be faced with situations where they ‘would have to’ use it, in fear for their lives.

This emotional connection is what helps us establish the rapport between professionals and young people; and ultimately aids best practice on the part of the professional, as well as the trust to open up and receive support on the part of the young person.

In addition, the VR experience provides a great platform for training professionals and carers working with young people in any capacity, around gangs and knife crime. It is a great tool that can be used to reflect and support best practice, as well as pick up on unconscious biases and how they can be challenged to develop appropriate empathy when working with young people.

This is echoed by the feedback we have received from professionals from a variety of fields such as children’s services, education and other public and voluntary sector organisations. Commonly we hear comments such as “We are so happy the VR experiences have been developed”, “It is needed” and “It’s something all professionals working with young people should be exposed to”.

More importantly, they comment on the positive impact that the VR has had on their practice, which is consistent with PWC findings that users of VR are 275% more likely to act on what they learned from the training.

What I would like you to take away from this series of articles, and hope I have facilitated you to see, is that the young person’s perception of the world is different to yours – unless you’ve had similar lived experience or traumatic events. And, if it is different, we can only empathise. The VR experience takes our empathy to another level, and it is this new level of empathy that builds stronger relationships and better practice, which ultimately leads to greater outcomes.

Read Part 2 – The Knife Crime “Pandemic”: The Misconceptions and Solutions here.

Do you have any questions? contact us on hello@antser.com and a member of our team will be in touch.

The post The Knife Crime “Pandemic”: The Challenges, Misconceptions and Solutions – Part 1 appeared first on Antser.