The rise of knife crime is a national emergency. Knife crime has risen by 58% in England and Wales since 2013/14 and by 46% in London over the same period. The consequences for the people involved, their families and the wider community are heart-breaking.
I have also seen the devastating impact of violent crime on my doorstep. Last year, there were 89 stabbings in Harrow and 202 in Brent. Asian Voice and its readers have quite rightly raised their concerns on this matter.
The current Mayor of London has taken urgent action to clamp down on the rise in violent crime. In 2017, the Mayor launched City Hall’s first ever dedicated anti-knife crime strategy. Robust enforcement action has also been prioritised, with the establishment of a new Violent Crime Taskforce comprising 272 officers working to take weapons off the streets and targeting the most dangerous criminals in the capital.
However, it is clear that we cannot arrest our way out of this problem. It is vital we that we tackle the root causes of violence to prevent it from taking place. Last year, the Mayor sowed the seeds for his new Violence Reduction Unit which will take a public health approach to tackling violent crime, modelling on the successes of Scotland’s Violence Reduction Unit. The Unit will build on the preventative action already taken by the Mayor such as the establishment of the £45 million Young Londoners Fund. This fund focuses on early intervention projects which aim to divert the most vulnerable young Londoners from becoming caught up in a life of crime.
In contrast, the Government have been slow to act and inconsistent in their approach to tackling violent crime. The Prime Minister had initially suggested police numbers did not make a difference on crime levels, only to equivocate on the issue after. Likewise, while the Home Secretary has called on the Government to treat knife crime as a public health issue, the Health Secretary has dismissed this idea, stating: If you say it’s a public health issue that implies its nobody’s fault’.
We desperately need the Government to show leadership on tackling knife crime and not only reverse the cuts that it has made to policing but to properly fund youth services, mental health services, education and housing services which are all factors which increase the likelihood of a person committing violent crime.
As a community, we also have a role to play. We need to stay vigilant and help the police to identify dangerous individuals that are carrying weapons. We need to talk to our sons and daughters, our nieces and nephews about the dangers of carrying a knife. We need to stand up for local youth services and sports teams that give young people something to do.
It is integral that our young people are adequately invested in, and not left behind to languish as a generation lost to austerity.
