Young person stands in front of graffiti on Burton Street.

Children are carrying knives and dealing drugs on Nottingham’s streets with police and youth leaders blaming ‘gang culture’ and ‘disrespect’.

In a spree of arrests during a ‘crackdown’ on crime last month in and around the city’s Old Market Square, 24 of the 200 arrests made were young people under the age of 18.

The most common two offences listed by Notts Police in this string of arrests were drug dealing and knife possession.

“Gang culture is glamourised, it’s an aspiration.”

-SGT. JOSH LEE-TAYLOR

 

This comes after numbers released by Notts Police revealed 1,322 incidents of weapon possession in 2025, the fourth highest out of 54 counties.

Sergeant Josh Lee-Taylor, 31, who works for the engagement team that sits within Nottinghamshire Police’s Prevention Hub, said concern from the public regarding the numbers are “understandable”.

He said: “We can’t measure what we’re preventing, we can’t measure what we’re deterring, but we can look at the annual figures and say that there’s been a reduction.

“Less young people are entering the justice system, and that is something we’re really proud of,” he added.

More than 100 knives were seized in December after a police raid in Radford, showing the severity of knife crime in the city (Credit: Nottinghamshire Police).

 

However, recent incidents in Notts include a 16-year-old who was stabbed twice, and four teenagers who have been charged with wasting police time after armed officers were deployed to a reported robbery.

“there’s a culture of disrespect and lack of manners,”

– BEN ROSSER, BEM

Last year, Nottinghamshire saw a 50.7 per cent reduction in children and young people entering the criminal justice system, but the violence and drug dealing continues.

Sgt Lee-Taylor believes their methods of education and intervention are continuing to break negative cycles in young people but does admit to imperfections.

“There’s always going to be gaps, and there’s always people that fall through the net unfortunately,” he said.

He also highlighted that the police are putting the most resources he has ever seen into this issue to tackle the problem at its root.

He added: “More so than ever in my 10 and a half years in Notts Police, the focus on early intervention is higher than it ever has been.

“Often these young people that come to our attention are victims; victims of being coerced, bullying, threats or they just don’t know any better. We want to educate them and change that behaviour.”

The force are working in partnership with youth organisations working to tackle the problem of youth crime at its roots.

Ben Rosser BEM, chief executive officer of The Pythian Club, a Nottingham-based charity working for over 10 years to provide a positive impact on young people, said: “The police definitely do a very good job, but there’s things out of their control.

“It’s organisations like ours that have to fill that hole and provide that service of outreach and engagement,” he added.

Ben, who is a former police officer with 10 years experience, says he understands the issues young people are facing from his years growing up in city areas.

“the wrong people are being promoted.”

-BEN ROSSER, BEM

“Currently I think there’s a culture of disrespect and lack of manners,” he said. “The rise in mental health problems in the young community alone is very prevalent.

“It’s a big problem.”

Both Sgt Lee-Taylor and Ben have referenced the growing popularity of the “wrong” celebrities and role models: “Gang culture is glamorised. It’s an aspiration. If young people are being subjected to these, they’ll want to be in it.”

And the other added: “The wrong people are being promoted, and the wrong role models are being chosen. Everything in life is linked to respect, morals and discipline, and it feels like that’s all gone.”

Police patrols in Old Market Square have been significantly increased since December (Credit: Nottinghamshire Police).

The Pythian Club recently saw funding from the Police Crime Commissioner to continue their work in taking young people involved in anti-social behaviour and “steering them on a better path”.

When issues like knife crime are brought to the club’s attention, they work with police to help everyone involved, which is key to creating a “neutral area that young people can feel safe and supported” in, according to Ben.

In response to the growing concern of youth crime and recent arrests, he addressed young people directly: “Find organisations like The Pythion Club that believe in you, value you, and will tell you well done.

“We will be there for you, and we will support you; we won’t let you down.”

  • The Pythian Club operates at Heathfield Community Centre, operating from 10am-3pm daily, excluding weekends.
  • Community activities provided by the club include: multi-sports programmes, mentoring and behaviour support, enrichment provisions and bespoke programmes.
  • The organisation is also involved in helping the homeless, transport safety and support programmes donating to several different countries.
  • The Pythian Club runs employability support drop-ins every Wednesday from 1-4pm.