New research reveals children are most of the risk of being attacked between the hours of 4 pm and 6 pm when they are on their way home from school. The study published by the British Medical Journal found a "sharp increase" in the number of 14 — 16-year-olds ending up in Accident and Emergency wards.
Royal London doctors revealed 22 percent of all victims were attacked in areas close to their home and school after classes finish; teenage boys from poor backgrounds in urban areas are at "particularly high risk", the study found.
The younger the patient, the more likely it was they were attacked near their home.
There has been a major shift towards younger victims over the past few decades. The graph on the left is from a 1987 paper from East London (https://t.co/EWSsvwHYFa), on the right is from our paper today pic.twitter.com/wpkeC5alqB
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"There were significant differences in the timing and location of injuries, with younger patients tending to be stabbed earlier in the day and closer to home."
The study's authors suggest the results present a tangible opportunity to prevent more knife crime attacks, "specifically, the period immediately after school" leading to many anti-knife crime campaigners to call for parents to pick up their children from school.
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Knife crime reached a seven-year high in 2017 and half of all stabbings seen at the Royal London Hospital involve multiple injuries which supports the academic observations of increasing intensity of knife crimes with the majority of fatalities involving children.
The BMJ study is published at the same time five people were stabbed in separate attacks in six days in London.
The finger of blame is being pointed towards London's mayor Sadiq Khan, while others decry the continuous cuts to the Metropolitan Police Service and youth services across England and Wales for perpetuating the crisis.