News from Unmesh Desai: Mayor’s knife crime strategy welcomed

Mayor’s knife crime strategy welcomed as stabbings rise in Tower Hamlets

• Sadiq Khan launched London’s first ever knife crime strategy on Tuesday (June 27^th)
• 202 stabbings in Tower Hamlets last year, a 7% increase on previous year
• 4,415 stabbings across London last year, a 21% increase on previous year
• 12,074 knife crime offences, an increase of 24% on previous year

The Mayor of London launched the city’s first ever knife crime strategy last week. It follows a recent rise in stabbings in Tower Hamlets. 202 stabbings took place in the borough in the last year, an increase of 7% on the previous year. The strategy promises an additional £625,000 for knife and gang crime projects, taking total spending to £7 million. There are also plans to empower communities with funds to do more to protect young people, and increase prevention and police work. The strategy was welcomed by local London Assembly Member, Unmesh Desai AM, who said he agreed that people need to know that carrying a knife is more likely to ruin your life than save it. Mr Desai also said it was “vital” that the government provided more funding.

Since the start of the year, 25 Londoners under 25 have died as a result of stabbings across London. In April Mr Desai wrote to the Mayor of London following three deaths from knife crime in a 24 hour period. The Mayor agreed that this was “extremely concerning” and set out a number of steps in his response as to how he and the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Cressida Dick, planned to keep Londoners safe. This includes the use of intelligence-led stop and search as well as preventative measures to discourage people from carrying knives in the first place.

Data from the Metropolitan Police showed that the number of stabbings in the capital reached 4,415 last year, an increase of 21%. Young people under 25 are disproportionately affected by increasing knife crime, with almost half of those injured under 25. The number of children carrying knives at schools in London has doubled in the last five years, with the Met and interest groups such as the Ben Kinsella Trust saying increasing numbers are carrying knives to protect themselves.

Mr Desai welcomed the action from City Hall, saying “Sadiq Khan has made it clear he won’t continue his predecessor’s legacy of complacency.”

Mr Desai also called on the government to match any activity from the Mayor with better funding. Since 2010 the Met has faced cuts of £600m, and is expected to find another £400m in savings by 2020. The government has also cut almost £400m for youth service spending across the country over the past seven years.

Local London Assembly Member, Unmesh Desai AM, said:

“I have been appalled by the increase in knife crime in recent years. We’ve seen families and communities in Tower Hamlets and beyond suffer unimaginable turmoil. We have long needed real action to rid our city of these destructive crimes.

“My colleagues were warning Boris Johnson and the police of rises in violent crime back in 2014, but we were told that this was about bad statistics or increases in reporting. Sadiq Khan has made it clear he won’t continue his predecessor’s legacy of complacency.

“It’s going to take every section of the community, including families, schools, and the police, coming together to tackle knife crime. This strategy seeks to equip communities to do just that, but it is vital that any action from the Mayor is matched with increased funding from government. This is especially important when it comes to youth services.”

ENDS