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One in ten teenagers in knife crime "hotspots" targeted by the Government say they still have to carry a weapon to feel safe, according to a poll for BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat.

Polling company ComRes surveyed 500 people aged 13 to 19 in five of the Government's original ten knife crime hotspots: London, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Thames Valley.

A quarter of the teenagers questioned said they knew someone who has been a victim of knife crime. Two-thirds of all under-18s still said it was either "very easy" or "fairly easy" to buy a knife. Just a quarter said it was fairly or very difficult.

The Government has raised the legal age limit to buy a knife from 16 to 18 and asked trading standards to crack down on underage sales in hotspot areas.

Fifty-three per cent surveyed said the Government would not be able to reduce knife attacks over the coming months. Almost as many said the police could not protect them from violent crime.

The Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, told Newsbeat there are signs the Government's crackdown is starting to work.

"There is the cultural issue which I think is at the heart of this. Youngsters think that to be safe they have to carry a knife," he said.

"The message that is going out to local youth clubs and front-line workers tackling these problems is that that is not true. You are actually more likely to be attacked if you are carrying a knife.

"We weren't expecting youngsters to start to feel more secure in eight months. It's a difficult message and I think it's going to take longer to change those cultural aspects."

The Home Office launched its £12 million Tackling Knives Action Programme in June last year to crack down on offending in 10 key areas.

Extra cash has been used to pay for airport-style knife arches, increased stop-and-search and new education schemes for "at risk" young people.

Official figures show the number caught with a knife in those areas fell 8% in the first three months of the year. Hospital data also suggests the number treated for stab wounds is going down.

But more than half the young people polled for Newsbeat said they are still worried about other teenagers using a weapon when they go out.

Most reckon young people carry a knife not to commit a crime but for protection or respect from their mates.

One a week

A series of newspaper headlines and high-profile teen stabbings last summer gave the impression that knife crime in some parts of the UK was rising sharply.

Overall that's not the case. According to the British Crime Survey, attacks with a blade have remained steady over the last decade at around 6-7% of all crime and 30% of all killings.

The latest NHS figures show the number of teens admitted to hospital in England with stab wounds has been falling since 2006.

But police reports still show that 17 teenagers have been killed with a blade or sharp object this year, down just slightly from 21 in the first five months of 2008.

Police officers in the ten hotspot areas carried out nearly 200,000 stop-and-searches between the launch of the Government's knife crime crackdown in June last year and March 2009.

Police forces have also been given an extra 1,150 airport-style search arches and metal detecting "wands".

Survey findings

• 25% know someone who has been a victim of knife crime
• 9% say they have to carry a weapon to feel safe
• 55% say they are worried about other teenagers carrying a knife
• 44% think the police are unable to protect them from violent crime
• 30% think longer sentences for people found carrying blades would reduce knife crime
• 49% say they would not report someone they know who carried a knife or gun
• 70% say it is easy or very easy to buy a knife

The research method

ComRes telephoned 500 13-19 year-olds in London, Thames Valley, Birmingham, Merseyside and Manchester between 21 and 25 May 2009.

Ten per cent of the interviews used mobile phones and 90% with fixed lines.

The Radio 1 Newsbeat /1Xtra survey was conducted by polling company ComRes between 21 and 25 May.

ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Full tables at www.comres.co.uk.

Notes to Editors

Any use of the above must credit BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat.

The Max Show on BBC 1Xtra is also having a special looking at knife crime from 2.00pm today (Monday 29 June 2009).

PH