Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette
WHY IS KNIFE CRIME AFFECTING YOUNGER PEOPLE
TIME after time, we hear of teenagers rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds or stab injuries.
Members of the public have become saddened, baffled and fed up by the never-ending spiral of violence.
Finally some action was taken this week after Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced new plans for punishments for young people caught with knives, but many do not think the Government’s latest idea will do anything to stop the bloodshed.
So we sought out a range of different, expert views on why such young kids are becoming victims of knife and gun crime in London.
Here are four different interpretations about why things have got so bad for our youngsters.
Not enough police resources
Are there enough police on the streets these days?
Graham Wettone is now an author but he has 30 years worth of policing experience.
He policed Wimbledon and Mitcham for 10 years and is a Londoner by birth.
Mr Wettone stressed that he believes the problem is too complex to pinpoint one particular cause, but as an ex-police officer, he has strong views about how the job of keeping the public safe has been made harder.
He said: “Policing wise, a lack of resources/numbers of front line operational officers has led to policing becoming reactive as opposed to proactive.
“Officers are busy managing demand which has increased and there is little spare time or capacity to go out looking to prevent crime.”
There has been an ‘exodus’ of experience for London’s Metropolitan Police force too, Mr Wettone believes, which can have a direct effect on detecting knife crime.
He added: “Younger officers are very wary of using stop and search powers, partly because of the frequent criticisms levelled at the option and partly because they are inexperienced in operational policing and the officers with more experience are now few and far between.
“It really is down to having the time and enough officers to get involved with the community.
“Community teams and officers need time so they can get to know everyone and maybe dissuade some from turning to crime by building trust and confidence.
“Involvement with schools and youth groups is also a key part of police involvement.” Beyond police work, Mr Wettone argues parents need to take on a greater role, but he also repeated his resources argument, this time for youth facilities.
Does the former officer think there are any solutions to the ongoing violence among young people?
“It needs investment from government in policing to increase resources,” Mr Wettone said.
“An increase for support services such as mental health systems, so police officers are not spending hours and days dealing with non police related incidents, is needed too.
“It also needs involvement from parents and families to find out what their young people are doing - this starts at home for me, but needs enforcement and support from policing once it gets onto the street.”
Young people are not being listened to
Are adults guilty of not listening to the real concerns of young people?
Peter Underwood is chairman of the Croydon and Sutton Green Party.
He worked in the civil service for many years developing policy in welfare benefits, employment programmes, and renewable energy. As someone representing a party increasingly backed by the young, he feels the voice of youth needs to be heard. Like Mr Wettone, he does not believe there is a simple cause or solution, but he thinks the starting point for tackling things is straightforward.
He said: “We need to start by talking and listening to young people to find out why and how they get involved in these situa-
It really is down to having the time and enough officers to get involved with the community
Graham Wettone
tions and then look to develop alternatives that they want to engage with.
“There are lots of great grassroots organisations working with young people and we need to make sure they are properly supported and backed up with wider polices to support youth work and community policing.”
Cuts to youth clubs and other things for young people to do
Dean Ryan works with young offenders and excluded children in north London.
He was critical of new plans by the Home Office to tackle knife crime in an article for The Guardian on February 1.
As someone who works with the young all the time, Mr Ryan said he hears the same thing a lot – ‘why has the government closed our youth clubs?’
There are lots of organisations that argue that cuts to things to do for young people, combined with Mr Wettone’s concerns about a drop in funding for the police, has created a perfect storm that has led to a spike in gang violence amongst youngsters on the streets.
Mr Ryan certainly supports this argument and he points out that still the finger of blame is pointed at young black people when violent crime is discussed.
He wrote in The Guardian: “There is a significant body of research that suggests social class, not race, is the driving factor behind youth violence.
“When Glasgow was the knife crime capital of Europe, there were no demands that the white community take responsibility for their children, or media commentators lambasting “feckless” white dads.
“Yet the finger of blame is always being pointed at the black community.”
If the Home Secretary seriously wants to stop knife crime getting worse, Mr Ryan says, there are three things he should focus on.
The first is unlikely from a Conservative government, as Mr Ryan suggests legalising drugs to stop ‘county lines’ gangs exploiting youngsters.
The second suggestion is greater efforts to tackle homelessness, by getting more affordable houses built to get young people off the streets.
Mr Ryan’s final suggestion is the same argument made by our fourth point of view.
Too many kids being excluded from school?
What happens when children are excluded from school with nowhere to go?
The charity Barnardo’s, in partnership with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Knife Crime, revealed in October 2018 that children who have been excluded from school may be at serious risk of involvement in knife crime and youth violence.
The UK’s leading children’s charity surveyed all local authorities in England (via a Freedom of Information Request) and discovered one in three who responded have no vacant places in Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), potentially leaving children vulnerable to violence and criminal exploitation.
Barnardo’s argues ‘growing evidence’ shows that excluded children who are not offered a full-time place in a PRU are at increased risk of involvement in criminal activity.
There has been a 56% rise in exclusions since 2014.
Chief executive Javed Khan said: “Preventing serious youth violence is everyone’s business – and schools, along with police, charities and others, have a key role to play.
“Exclusion must be a last resort and all children must have access to high quality full-time education, that gives them the best possible chance of achieving good grades and staying safe from harm.
“We know children excluded from mainstream schools are at serious risk of being groomed and exploited by criminal gangs.
“We urge the government to help schools to reduce the number of children who are excluded and improve the quality of alternative provision, so vulnerable young people get the help they need to achieve a positive future.”
Sarah Jones, chairman of the AllParty Parliamentary Group on Knife Crime and MP for Croydon Central, supported the charity’s work
She added: “Knife crime is at the highest level on record. This is a public health crisis and our schools are on the frontline.
“Exclusions are rising and in many cases there is literally nowhere for those children to go.
“This is heartbreaking. Schools need resources to support pupils through difficult periods.
“Too many children are being socially excluded and marked as failures, with tragic consequences.”