my name is lucy martindale. brixton in south london and i have lost so many friends i now work with the police and mps in order to help reduce knife crime. i also mentor young people to stop them from picking up and using a knife. i think we should be speaking to the young boys involved that carry knives themselves. josh was convicted of carrying a knife when he was 16. he's agreed to talk to me about it. what went through your mind? what made you pick up a knife? i'd say it's more for protection because when you're out on the roads it's different. you're inside, you're all calm, you're safe. when you're outside, if you're carrying a knife and stuff, it's for protection. you don't know what's going to happen to you. my area is unsafe. so i know when i'm walking around i'm always looking behind me and stuff. i don't know what's going to happen. i'm not the only person that will have a knife. other people will be walking around with the same thing. and then you always get into fights, beef, stuff always happens. h

lucy martindale has friends and family who have been stabbed, and she thinks the courses are complex.th, poverty, lack of opportunity... gang violence... drill music, social media... the list is endless, and until the government start treating each of these issues as a major problem, that they are, then we will not get anywhere. day after day, stabbings are reported, notjust in london, where a man was murdered here last week, but in bury and bradford over the last two days, it isa bradford over the last two days, it is a national problem which even with this new approach is going to ta ke yea rs with this new approach is going to take years to change, the knife culture. the government announced yesterday it would relax rules on stop and search, so it can be used more, a change from when the prime minister was home secretary and limited it. today she hosted a knife crime summit at downing street. resources and tools are there to be able to apprehend and deal with those who are carrying and using able to apprehend and deal with those v police carrying and using able to apprehend and dea