Efforts to combat knife crime in London, attacks are expected to rise during the summer
MET officers are focused on working with young people and divert them from knife crime, as this type of crime is expected to see a seasonal rise in the summer months.
The Metropolitan Police Service’s latest crackdown on knife crime focuses on schools and habitual knife carriers, but officers will also be carrying out intense weapon sweeps and intelligence-led policing operations to confiscate knives and tackle those wanted in connection with knife-related offences and violent crime. Over 900 activities are planned throughout London to highlight the dangers and the potentially devastating consequences of carrying a knife.
“This operation carries a positive and powerful message: this is about all of us addressing a problem that often has tragic consequences. This behaviour is damaging our communities; there is no excuse, people are better than this and our communities are better than this. I would urge anyone who is concerned for someone involved in knife crime, to visit our website at www.met.police.uk/StopKnifeCrime. This is clearly a safeguarding issue for the people who do, and would, carry knives and victims of knife crime,” Detective Chief Superintendent Michael Gallagher, the Met’s ‘Silver lead’ for knife crime, said.
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During previous weeks of action, over 5,791 weapon sweeps have been conducted, more than 1,435 weapons have been recovered and removed from the streets of London, hundreds of shops have been visited with Trading Standards to test whether knives are being sold to those under 18, and over 2,294 people have been arrested – including 473 for possessing a knife or offensive weapon.
The Met has recently been at the forefront of influencing changes in legislation, with the amendment to the Criminal Justice Act 1988 banning the sale, manufacture, rental or importation of knives often referred to as “zombie knives”. This ban was supported by the change to sentencing laws in relation to minimum custodial sentences for knife carrying repeat offenders.
The Metropolitan Police Service has published its end-of-year crime statistics for 2016-2017 and according to data, the number of knife crimes is on the rise, with 12,074 such crimes in the past year compared to 9,742 in the 2015-2016 period.
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