South Yorkshire Police and Thames Valley Police no longer post images of knives seized by officers on social media, over fears it may cause more harm than good.
Today, the London Assembly is calling on the Mayor to ask the Metropolitan Police Service to pause the sharing of knife imagery on their social media pages immediately, until further evidence has been published.
Caroline Russell AM, who proposed the motion, said:
“Met police Twitter accounts are plastered with images of frightening knives. While adults see evidence of the police removing blades from circulation, young people can be frightened about the danger in their area and even be prompted to start carrying a weapon themselves.
“The Mayor was expecting academic research on knife image harm to be released this winter, but it has been delayed until next spring. Continuing to show scary knife pictures on social media, despite the expected research findings, is risky and potentially harmful.
“The Mayor must ask the Met to pause sharing images of knives on social media immediately, to protect young Londoners, and so the practice can be reviewed.”
The full text of the motion is:
This Assembly notes that the South Yorkshire Police and Thames Valley Police now avoid showing images of knives on social media because of concerns that they make the public more, not less, worried about knife crime. The Mayor’s Violence Reduction Unit also does not use or share images of knives in its work.
We therefore call on the Mayor to ask the Metropolitan Police Service to pause the sharing of images of knives on their social media pages immediately. The practice can then be reviewed once further research has been published.
Notes to editors
- Watch the full webcast.
- The motion was agreed unanimously.
- Caroline Russell AM, who proposed the motion, is available for interviews.
- As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.