Is knife crime really increasing in London?

The argument posed by many critics of the media, is that the publisization of the "growing epidemic" of knife crime hasn't only just arisen, but has always been there, the media just hasn't focused on it as much as they are currently doing so. This has brought about the creation of the violent "teen gang" perpetraitors stereotype; directly associated with knife crime, and has also brought about the Moral Panic among the civilians of society today. Tabloids, in particular promote this moral panic, with not only their articles but their choice of imagery. For example, the mug shots of teens "have you seen this person" linked in with the article of the "crime committed" gives the target audience a sense of the image of the criminals. Although, to take this argument even further, it could be argued by critics that the tabloids carefully choose what they ant published and what they wish to disclose from the public; an example being if both a stabbing happened domestically, and a stabbing happened between youths on the same day, its likely that they would report on the stabbing between the youths rather than the domestic incident, due to the predicted public reaction. According to discussions within parliament, men are to be advised to carry an alarm with them at all times; as it is believed that they are the primary targets of knife crime. Many people that have heard this proposition believe it may bring a sense of ridicule within society, and based on the male macho stereotype; it is likely there will be a high refusal rate to carry the alarm. On the contrary, men in particular all the way through history, have carried knives on them, and its only now its a "growing epidemic" . In the 1950's it was part of the culture for young males to carry flick knives, although there wasn't a great outcry for knife crime and the possession of knives then. This is a clear portrayal of the media choosing how and when they report on certain topics to create a moral panic, and get the public believing exactly what they want to believe. The real question is, why is knife crime being reported frequently in todays society, rather than previously in history? Also, another theory that could come of this publisisation and stereotyping of young teens, is that they may feel they have to live up to the stereotype imprinted on them, and feel driven to carrying and committing knife crime, which most definately give the media more to talk about. An article in relation to this is, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7502180.stm which is reported by the BBC, with the posed question "Is knife crime really increasing in London?"