Boxing and martial arts should be harnessed to help fight knife crime and gang violence, a new report has recommended.
Sporting and cultural activities were being overlooked by the government in favour of arresting and imprisoning young people, the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee of MPs said.
Taking part in activities including walking football and group singing could also be key to solving social problems in health, education and urban regeneration, it said.
The report recommended that sport and culture were “better integrated within the work and policy objectives” of government departments to make them a “mainstream” way of delivering policy.
“We cannot break the debilitating cycle of gang violence and knife crime just by arresting those who commit offences”
- Damian Collins
The cross-party committee visited a number of projects and initiatives around the country designed to improve the life chances of young people.
It concluded that although the benefits of sporting and cultural participation were undisputed, the government does not do enough to use them in its own policy objectives.
While the UK has a “rich cultural sector” of community choirs, orchestras and book clubs, the report noted there were “significant variations” in participation according to gender, race, disability, age, class and geographical location.
The report highlighted boxing and martial arts programmes as a particularly useful way of reaching young people, and called for a government review of their effectiveness in prisons.
It also recommended that Ofsted, the government’s school inspector, measures the level of cultural education in primary and secondary schools.
Damian Collins, the committee’s chairman, said: “We cannot break the debilitating cycle of gang violence and knife crime just by arresting those who commit offences.
“Government statistics clearly show that custodial sentences in and of themselves do not necessarily rehabilitate young offenders.
“In schools we have seen that sport and culture can improve educational attainment as well as the well-being of the students.”
He added: “Social activities like group singing and walking football can improve the mental and physical health of those who take part.
“More needs to be done to co-ordinate and invest in community initiatives, share evidence of success and encourage others to emulate examples of best practice.”