PM Prompted to Take Action
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to ban long-bladed knives following a wave of violence at the Notting Hill Carnival over the Bank Holiday weekend. Sunak made the commitment during a visit to Kilburn police station in North West London, where he examined a collection of illegal knives that had recently been confiscated. The PM stated that the events at the carnival demonstrated the urgent need for action on knives.
Increasing Knife Crime
Earlier this week, Trending In The News reported that the number of knife offenders avoiding prison has more than doubled in the past decade. Suspended sentences for such offenders have risen from 2,213 in 2013 to 4,800. Meanwhile, the number of cautions and fines for knife crimes has decreased. This comes as the UK's prison population has surged by around 6,000 in the past year, with a total of 87,012 individuals behind bars.
Tackling Knife Crime
In response to the rising knife crime epidemic, the government plans to ban long-bladed weapons that have no practical use. Additionally, ministers are seeking to grant the police greater powers to seize these weapons in order to make the streets safer. However, Labour's Shadow Justice Secretary Steve Reed believes that the government is not doing enough to combat knife crime. Reed has criticized the "missing in action" approach of the Tories and has pledged that Labour will take action by increasing the number of prison places and deploying more neighborhood police officers.
Labour's Promise
Meanwhile, the Labour Party, led by Sir Keir Starmer, has made a bold promise to halve knife crime within a decade if they come to power. They vow to achieve this goal by implementing measures that focus on prevention, punishment, and community protection.
Rise in Convictions
The Ministry of Justice has stated that there has been an increase in the number of individuals being sentenced to jail for knife crime. So far this year, 5,798 individuals have been incarcerated for such offenses, compared to 4,611 in 2013.
