Could understanding trauma help prevent knife attacks?

For the first time in England and Wales, a police force is working with an educational psychologist to help stop young people becoming involved in knife crime.

The year-long partnership between Wiltshire Police and psychologist Dr Brooke Hamblin will train officers to better understand vulnerable children and provide specialist support to those at risk of offending.

The Home Office-funded pilot comes as knife crime in Wiltshire rose by 6% in the year to May 2026, bucking the national trend of falling offences.

Jo Davis, whose family friend Owen Dunn was stabbed to death in 2022, said: "I firmly believe if this was in place before, Owen would still be here."

Supt Mike Vass, Wiltshire Police's knife crime lead, said the force wanted to take a more preventative approach, even though the knife crime offence rates are low in Wiltshire.

"We'll train officers in what to look for and how to understand, why is that child acting that way?" he said.

Hamblin will train frontline officers about how trauma, disabilities and additional needs can affect a young person's behaviour and increase their vulnerability to becoming involved in crime.

"I'm giving officers the skills to interact with those young people and help them connect," said Hamblin.

She will carry out individual case work with six young people from the county, identified as being at risk of offending. They all have additional needs, and are not in education, work or training.

"We have to understand them to formulate a plan to support them," she said.

"How can we engage them to give them a sense of belonging or purpose?"

According to the Ministry of Justice and Youth Justice Board, children with SEND are over-represented in the youth justice system.

The Michael Seiff Foundation estimates the figure could be as high as 80%.

"These young people do have underpinning needs, there are needs not being met... lots of these have experienced lots of adverse childhood experiences and trauma," said Hamblin.

Dr Stevie-Jade Hardy, assistant director of policing and criminal justice at the Youth Endowment Fund said: "Police officers will often encounter these children at times when they need understanding and support.

"How officers handle those moments can make a real difference to a child's safety and what happens next."

Vass acknowledged police officers do not always manage those relationships well enough.

"Officers have moments in time with children and young people when they're in a moment of crisis- sometimes we're not very good at interacting with them," he said.

"First and foremost our job is to fight crime

"What are we missing in that young person's life.. that all of us could do to prevent escalating into unfortunately serious violent crime risk and knife crime risk?" he asked.

It is hoped that building a greater understanding will help police and the wider justice system understand the motivations behind serious crime.

Hamblin said the aim was not to excuse offending, but to understand the causes behind it.

"This is not diverting away from the inevitable if a crime has been committed, but officers' job is to understand 'the why' and hopefully prevent any future offences."

Davis is co-founder of Owen's World, a charity set up in memory of 18-year-old Owen Dunn.

She believes that earlier intervention could make a lasting difference.

"As we know from working with kids, the level of trust with the police is low," she said.

"The majority of people that we work with are vulnerable.

"They are the ones that are more at risk of becoming involved in knife crime, it's important we understand them."

The charity holds education workshops for young people about the risks of carrying knives, fundraises for bleed kits in local communities, and is campaigning for parents and carers to talk to their children about the risks of carrying knives.

A 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and 18-year-old Tyler Hunt were convicted of Mr Dunn's murder in 2023.

Davis talks with compassion and understanding about young people, including those responsible for Owen's death.

"There were two boys involved in Owen's murder and I feel they were let down majorly. I firmly believe if this was in place before, Owen would still be here," she said.

The year-long project is being funded by the Home Office as part of a serious crime prevention fund.

The results will be assessed to see if it could be used elsewhere, or extended.

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