Tory cuts created youth crimewave
■ I can’t believe the nerve of this Tory Government who are now trying to shift responsibility for stopping knife crime onto teachers and nurses (Mirror, April 2).
It is nine years of drastic Tory cuts which have caused this epidemic. Theresa May said at the Downing Street summit that it’s a challenge that “collectively affects us” and that we need to deal with it “as a society”, but they aren’t dealing with it, they are just passing the buck as usual.
This country desperately needs a change after nine years of Tory incompetence and failed policies. Dave Mellor, Warrington
■ Here we go again. It appears that the responsibility for flagging up problem children is down to the police, nurses, doctors, teachers and anyone else this feckless Government can dump on. What happened to parental control and flagging up any likely loutish or petty criminal behaviour themselves?
It all starts in the home – this is where learning good manners and the responsibility of citizenship starts. Our police, teachers, nurses and doctors have enough to do without this being dumped on them.
Tom Ritchie, Wirral Merseyside
■ Instead of making schools and the NHS accountable for knife crime, Mrs May should look to herself and her failed Tory Government. Until we have a government that is prepared to put money into youth services and help lift poor families out of poverty, all attempts at solving this problem, no matter how well intentioned, will fail. Well done to the Mirror for highlighting this issue. A Taylor, Glossop, Derbys
■ One cannot deny the rise in crime is in part due to declining numbers of police on the beat and existing cops being increasingly stretched, but it’s not the whole story. An increasing number of young men who lack ambition and optimism are finding identity and empowerment in crime and violence.
More time and resources need to be invested in our youth to foster a sense of self-worth. After all, if young gang members or criminals don’t value their own lives, why would they value the life of someone else?
Diane Silva, Bournemouth, Dorset
■ People are dying and being injured on our streets daily while the Tories play their silly games over Brexit. Not one of them is fit to hold office – they should be removed immediately and a general election called. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I have totally lost faith in British politics, especially the party that reckons it’s better than all the others.
Eddie Fidler, Oxford
■ Poverty, family breakdown and a lack of social infrastructure and education have led us to where we are over knife crime. It is not the teachers’ responsibility – they have enough to deal with.
Michelle Washington, via Facebook