That concludes our special coverage about youth knife crime and its impacts on communities.

We've heard from young people aged 15 to 21 about how their lives are changed by knives on the streets, campaigners who want to see improvements across the capital, and experts who are involved in finding solutions.

Thank you for reading and calling in to the debate. You can discuss the issue further on Facebook, external, X, external and Instagra, externalm, external, or contact us at hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk

This live coverage was edited by Tim Stokes and Chirag Trivedi.

Goodbye.

BBC London's home affairs correspondent Sonja Jessup says young people are both "traumatised" by and "normalising" knife crime at the same time.

"There are a lot of young people with ideas, with solutions, and a lot of them are about being listened to, and empathised with," she tells Eddie.

"It's not about just picking up the pieces when things go wrong, it's about those early solutions - and the earlier the better.

"If kids fall through the gaps and they're not getting that support... that's where these young people are saying there's a problem."

Sophie Linden, the mayor's deputy for policing, tells Eddie her job is to hold the Met Police to account, set the mayor's policing priorities, and make sure there are crime prevention projects in place.

"The Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), external is doing what those young people were asking for to happen," she says

"Pulling things together, coordinating, working with parents, working with schools and working with communities."

She says the VRU has a budget of about £38m and "nearly all" goes into projects for young people in London.

"What the VRU has done is invested in youth work and looked at the journey of a child."

During their interview, Eddie gave Sophie Linden a copy of the solutions suggested by young people during their debate.

Listen back as young people from across London talk to Eddie Nestor about the impact of knife crime on their lives, and the solutions for tackling the issue.

Sylvia in Tottenham says she is a secondary school governor and youth mentor.

"The biggest resource in this country is people," she tells Eddie. "They don't use it enough.

"We've got lots of people who do volunteering, but we have a lot more people who could become volunteers."

"When you get tired of running from danger, you become the danger," Nicola quotes Caleb Femi, a poet from Peckham, London.

"I think that's what's happening to our children - it's all around them. I think that sort of sums up why young people are carrying knives.

"Becoming the danger is young people's response to being belittled and not listened to, and feeling like they're spinning out of control and not having that investment in their future."

Nicola Garrard, who taught English in secondary schools for 23 years, says she has written a book dedicated to her former pupil who was murdered by a gang in 2017.

"Every time I go into schools there are safeguarding referrals made afterwards from what children say to me," she says.

"Parenting is very hard, 99% of parents are really wanting their kids to do well and trying their absolute best to do that.

"There are parents whose kids are carrying guns who are perfectly well functioning parents.

"Their children have been groomed, they've been brainwashed, they've been frightened."

Tyrell Davis-Douglin tells Eddie "prisons are the breeding ground and networking places for people who condone anti-social behaviour to actually grow and do what they did previously even better."

He adds: "Young people who have committed a crime, they're the ones that need more attention.

"They should be offered rehabilitation services that look like workshops, mentors.

"That young person's passions should be uncovered and they should be paired with a mentor that can support them in that industry."

Rachel Duncan tells Eddie there needs to be a public health approach to knife crime, and preventative work in the prisons to work on rehabilitation.

"When it comes to solutions, when we have our youth work people that come and support, is there family intervention for the whole family?

"We need to understand the safeguarding element of youth clubs. Is there family intervention that can take place there?"

Image source, Family handout

Rachel Duncan, the aunt of stabbing survivor James Bascoe-Smith, tells Eddie "a lot of people forget about the survivors of knife crime".

James was 17 when he was stabbed while riding a bicycle in south London in 2021.

He was left with life-changing brain injuries, uses a wheelchair and also needs a full-time carer.

She says they are reminded of the stabbing every day when they look at James, who now needs "24/7 assistance".

"For his 18th birthday he wanted to go to Ibiza," she says.

"He was studying to become a DJ, he wanted to be the best, world-renowned DJ and music producer. He can't now do that fully on his own, he needs assistance.

"He can't even brush his teeth on his own, he needs assistance."

Helen in Coulsdon tells Eddie she has three sons and wants to see prison reform as part of the solution.

"I think they should build rehabilitation units for these children," she says. "I believe that they should have their own rooms, and they shouldn't have a TV and they shouldn't have an Xbox.

"It's all about rules and learning to behave and boundaries, and what is acceptable.

"These are school age kids, they could be given lessons everyday.

"The whole day would be structured... they'd have sports."

She added that people from the SHARP project could also teach the young people about the impacts of carrying a knife.

Tyrell Davis-Douglin tells Eddie that his cousin Joseph, who took part in the young people's debate, wants to see positive change.

Tyrell, who works with young people in Croydon, says young people aren't being "matched with opportunities to showcase their capabilities".

"Treating young people in the village as our own," he adds. "

"We need to support our young people, it's everybody's responsibility," Tilisha tells Eddie.

"We can't sit here and blame governments, we can't sit here and blame the police.

"Everybody can play a part in educating and helping mentor and support at least one young person in their community."

She adds that it's about "inspiring" young people, and helping them leave an old mindset behind.

Eddie says the death penalty hasn't stopped people from killing others.

"It is a deterrent in America," he says.

"They have the death penalty. It hasn't stopped people killing people in America, it hasn't stopped shootings, they have more mass shootings than anywhere else in the world.

"The penal system doesn't work."

Richmond in Orpington asked: "Where is the deterrent?".

"If I were the prime minister I would do three things here in this country.

"I would bring back conscription and put those yobbos back in the army to have discipline, manners, and to educate them about the value of human lives.

"Discipline in the schools and in the homes, and I would want the return of the death penalty for crimes against humanity, and all these knife crimes that have been committed.

"I spent a lot of years teaching psychiatry and psychology in this country and I know about human behaviour."

Some of our panel were asked by Eddie why young people carry knives - with some of the answers focusing on the need for protection, the glorification of knives in music and media, but also issues around young men being let down by their community.

Karl Mercer says a senior surgeon at the Royal London Hospital told him they are saving "twice the number" of stabbing victims they used to save.

"He said without what we're doing twice the number of people would be dying from knife wounds," Karl says.

"Hospitals are dealing with hundreds and hundreds of knife victims every year.

"I was at St Mary's on Tuesday, they had more than 400 patients who had to be admitted for more than three days because of stab wounds in the last year."

Stephen in Croydon says young people are finding themselves in court through their association with other people that carry knives.

He tells Eddie he posts videos online warning young people about the consequences of carrying a knife.

"Often we don't hear the voices of youngsters," he says. "We hear from professionals."

He said great work is happening individually but more work needs to happen collectively on the issue.

Tilisha Goupall, who co-hosted the hour-long discussion with young people, says it's not uncommon to hear young people are desensitised to knife crime.

"It's across London, it's not segregated to anywhere in London," she says. "Anyone can be a victim of knife crime.

"It's become so normal in our society now to hear about kids dying."

BBC London correspondent Karl Mercer says social media is a big part of young people's lives, including in the way they consume news.

"Some of these younger people feel disenfranchised and a bit disconnected really from wider society," he tells Eddie.