[Stingo]

See Clanger - the problem with your cure for knife crime (national service) would be viewed as totally unfair and ridiculous by those in the military as well as many others. The reason for this is that on the one hand we have good people who are willing to obey orders and place their lives on the line whether it be in Iraq or anywhere else...on the other hand, your solution is to 'punish' somebody by sending then to do the same job along with the volunteer. It can't/won't happen and is quite plainly unfair. As a youth worker, you must have some sort of idea how peoples actions should have consequences...these consequences cannot be the same as the work undertaken by those that volunteer for the job/work - it must have some other element that inconveniences them and makes life awkward. Loss of liberty is a good place to start - in my opinion. It might not solve the problem initially but it would give some of us peace of mind and it might make others think a bit before they carried out actions that they may later regret.
National Service is not the answer.