Knife Crime Policy

Knife Crime Policy

It’s Time To Get Tough On Knife Crime

NHPUK campaign to introduce a mandatory 12 month prison sentence for under 18s and 24 months for over 18s, if they are caught in possession of a bladed instrument.

Stop & Search would be stepped up across the country, with there being no politically correct witch hunts to impede the Police in their duties. This fear would be lifted because of our policy to repeal the equalities act.

It’s no secret that knife crime is at epidemic levels across the UK and has been for some time. Recent statistics released by the ONS show a worrying increase in knife crime, with areas such as London, Bradford, Birmingham and Manchester seeing some of the highest levels since records began back in 2003.

30 years ago a stabbing in London or in the West Midlands would have been an event that rocked communities, but today it is sadly a daily occurrence that gets a passing mention in the newspaper. London alone saw a 36% rise in knife crime under Sadiq Khan’s leadership, and the trend has only continued after his re-election.

It’s only when events like the Southport murders take place that the government and general public sit up and take notice, reigniting the national debate, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

NHPUK has long been an advocate for toughening the laws surrounding knife crime with a combined approach focusing on prevention. We don’t believe that either the Conservative or Labour governments have taken the issue seriously, and have failed in their mission to tackle knife crime in the past 20 years. We are campaigning to introduce a mandatory 12 month prison sentence for under 18s, and an enhanced 24 month sentence for over 18s if they’re caught in possession of a bladed instrument.

We recognise that sentencing is only a deterrent, and we really need to step up Stop & Search capabilities nationwide without the fear of politically correct policing impeding the authorities ability to target individuals and communities associated with knife crime. Areas with higher levels of ethnic diversity correlate with higher levels of knife crime, and 2021 Home Office data showed that BAME males aged 15-34 were most likely to be searched, accounting for 32% of all searches.

ONS data on knife-enabled crime shows that at the end of 2023 there has been a 7% increase since 2022, with knife robberies alone showing a ‘notable increase’ of 20%. More recently, for the year ending March 2024 we have seen almost 4,000 hospitalisations for assault by a sharp object, of which more than 1,400 were under 24 years old.

Dr. Iain Overton of Action on Armed Violence has spoken out and condemned the rise in knife violence, stating that it is a symptom of community structures breaking down, poverty and a wider lack of opportunity for youngsters in particular. He believes that when we tackle these underlying issues with effective measures that knife crime will surely drop. Whatever the solution is, it’s clear it needs to be multi-faceted.

In one decade, of all recorded homicides, 38% were due to knife violence. Almost one in ten of all homicides in England and Wales involved those under the age of 15, highlighting that gang violence and a willingness to use such weapons has filtered down to the youngest in our society. The Ben Kinsella Trust has also worked for many years on this issue, aware that our youth are often entangled with gang culture and criminal networks operating in urban areas.

We must remember that these are not just figures and statistics, they are real people who have had their lives taken, real families torn apart by the scourge of knife crime in the UK, and real issues that need to be addressed if we’re ever going to get a handle on this situation.

Although successive governments have pledged to tackle the issue, it is apparent that even after 14 years in power for the Tories, and 14 years for the opposition to create effective policies surrounding knife crime, that neither will be able to stem the rise of knife crime as it spreads from our crime-ridden cities to our towns and villages. It will require communities and local councillors working together with government, and NHPUK pledges to make this devastating situation a top priority wherever we are elected.

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