Zombie knife ban won’t solve crisis – but there is hope, says Idris Elba

He was diagnosed with autism and ADHD. Through Cirv, Jayden joined a football academy and now aspires to be a coach.

He has stopped carrying a knife but says the dangers remain.

“It is still quite normal where I’m from to see someone carrying a blade on them,” he says. “I nearly got two pulled out on me this week.”

He paid tribute to PC Laura Cuthbertson who has mentored him as part of Cirv, though the funding for the scheme runs out in six months.

According to the Ministry of Justice, inmates with the highest rate of reoffending are aged 10-17.

The scheme costs £1,500 per child each year and Elba wants more funding for initiatives like this – that intervene in a child’s life before they commit a crime.

“There needs to be a very radical look at where we spend our money,” he says. “How we spend our money, what are the effective solutions versus the ones that we’re wasting a lot of money on that aren’t effective.”

Jayden tells Elba when he first joined Cirv he had no confidence in himself and was scared.

“I value life a lot more now,” he says. “There’s some beauty in the world for me, that wasn’t there before.”

Diana Johnson, minister for policing, fire and crime prevention, says the government has already banned zombie knives and it was progressing with a ban on “ninja swords”.

“In the longer term, we need to ensure that the right prevention systems are in place to stop crime in its tracks.”

Idris Elba: Our Knife Crime Crisis From the streets to the system, Idris uncovers how we can break the cycle. Watch now on BBC iPlayer or on Wednesday, 29 January at 21:00 GMT on BBC One.