No Knives, Better Lives and Conduit Partnership
- kateguthrie3
- Mar 23
- 3 min read
This blog explores the role of the No Knives, Better Lives programme in preventing knife crime and violence in Scotland and showcases partnership resources with Conduit that support educators in delivering lessons on knife crime to young people in schools.
What is No Knives, Better Lives?
No Knives, Better Lives is a Scottish prevention, early intervention and education programme that supports youth workers, educators and other practitioners who are working with young people to help those who are vulnerable to and exposed to youth violence. This national programme seeks to empower young people who are at risk of violence to turn towards a more positive path.
When did the programme begin?
The programme was first launched in 2009 through a collaboration with the Scottish Government and YouthLink Scotland. Close to 6,000 practitioners have been supported through training and resources to implement violence prevention work, benefitting 150,000 young people in Scotland who have participated in No Knives, Better Lives workshops since its inception.
What do they do?
Rather than using scare tactics or violent imagery, the No Knives, Better Lives programme encourages participation and a two-way learning approach between young people and practitioners, along with evidence-based research and rights-based learning. The programme also references real-life experiences that have helped shape the educational content.
Some of the main activities and resources from the No Knives, Better Lives programme include:
clear, fact-based information on the No Knives, Better Lives website;
toolkits and packages on the NKBL website like the ‘Nae Danger - Active Bystander’ package, which includes a young person’s guide, posters and a virtual reality experience game;
a learning hub filled with online courses for youth workers and other professionals like teachers and police officers;
the delivery of workshops and school programmes to engage young people in learning about knife crime prevention;
a peer education programme that allows young people to deliver sessions and important messages to their peers.
The programme encompasses the goals of the National Performance Framework (NPF) and aims to help create a society where everyone is safe from violent crime.
Young people are at the centre of everything this programme stands for - the aim being that they can be safe from fear and violence by having the right knowledge, tools, skills and resources around them to help them in challenging situations.
Conduit Partnership
Whilst there has been a reduction in violence and the use of offensive weapons in the last twenty years, the reduction has become stagnant. And most worryingly, the age of those involved in violent crime - including carrying offensive weapons - is getting younger. In the last 18 months alone, three young people have lost their lives to knife crime in Scotland. In a lot of cases across the country at the moment, many young people are carrying knives out of fear. Further to this, our young people are exposed to increasingly graphic content online, thus escalating their risk of harm. We have a duty of care towards our young people and we want to build trusting relationships and safe spaces to ensure we continue to see positive change in our communities.
Both partners want to provide clear, fact-based information about knife crime, such as the fact that carrying a knife actually increases your chances of being stabbed. We want young people to learn about real-life experiences and how knife crime doesn’t just impact the individual, but can impact an entire community and beyond. We want to support young people in making better and safer choices, and provide them with the tools they need to de-escalate conflict, stay safe and seek help.
Together, in partnership, we have created three different resources with these aims at the forefront for you to deliver in your classroom.
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