Mayor's Knife Crime Strategy: putting a stop to knife crime in London

We are supporting the Metropolitan Police Service who are taking tough action to enforce the law, including more Borough-led activity to catch knife offenders. 

We are also working with the Criminal Justice Service to make sure that those found guilty of knife crimes receive tougher sentences.

• We’ve invested £110m in Met police to keep police numbers as high as possible
• Patrols have been stepped up and extra stop and search powers are in place in worst-affected areas
• Operation Winter Nights (Nov-Dec 2017) saw more than 900 arrests and more than 350 weapons being taken off the streets – including 278 knives, 61 offensive weapons and 20 firearms
• Every single London borough now has a bespoke knife crime action plan created in partnership with the Met police

We are working with retailers and Trading Standards to enforce the laws that prevent the sale of knives to underage young people, on the high street and online.

Protecting and educating young people

We are strengthening our work with partners to direct young people who are at highest risk of offending and victimisation, away from a life ruined by crime.

• We giving £7m towards projects that help tackle youth violence – this includes more youth workers to steer young people who have been involved in knife crime away from future violence
• A boost of £45m for the Young Londoners Fund to help young people, particularly those at risk of getting caught up in crime, fulfil their potential. It will fund a range  of education, sport, cultural and other activities for children and young people
• The Mayor’s first anti-knife crime media campaign, London Needs You Alive, launched in November 2017. Bringing together role models and social media youth ‘influencers’, it focusses on young peoples' talent and worth to the capital

Offering a way out

We will not give up on young people caught up in crime who are looking for a way out. We are expanding our work to give people the skills, resources and confidence to leave a life of crime behind.

• We’ve pledged £1.4m for social workers in hospitals to support young victims of knife crime, and help them start to turn their lives around

Working with schools

We are working alongside Ofsted and headteachers to improve the actions taken by schools to prevent knife crime, and support students and parents in the event of an incident.

• The Mayor is working to increase the number of Safer Schools Officers across the capital
• Every school in London can now receive a knife wand, to help keep young people safe and prevent knife crime at school. 76 schools have already taken up the Mayor’s offer

We are supporting communities as they stand up against knife crime, with new funding for grass-roots community activities to protect their children and drive out crime.

• £250,000 of community seed funding is now available to community groups and grass-roots anti-knife initiatives across London, to fund work with young people preventing and protecting them from knife crime

Supporting victims of knife crime

Knife crime hurts more than just the person physically injured, and support services must reach further. We are investing more to support the victims of knife crime, their families and wider communities.