Social media will be forced to get tough on gang violence

GANGS will be prevented from using social media to incite violence after two teenagers became the 47th and 48th murder victims in London this year, ministers are to announce.

Amber Rudd is preparing to announce measures to restrict the way photo sharing mobile phone apps such as Snapchat and Instagram are used by violent groups.

The Home Secretary’s Serious Violence Strategy, due out next week, is understood to include measures to ensure social media platforms immediately remove content inciting violence online, including pictures, videos and messages.

It follows the death of Tanesha Melbourne, 17, whose family say was an innocent bystander and not a member of a gang, in a driveby shooting in Tottenham, north London, on Monday. Last month Cressida Dick, the head of the Metropolitan Police, said social media had helped to escalate conflicts between rival groups from the level of anger to “fight” incredibly quickly.

Ministers are understood to be working with internet companies to ensure they cooperate to help stem the tide of violence.

The Home Office said last night: “As the Met Commissioner has said, gangs often post videos online that seek to incite violence or glamorise criminality to influence young people. The instant nature of social media also means that plans develop rapidly and disputes can escalate very quickly. Our Strategy will put a stronger focus on steering young people away from violence.”

A17-year-old girl murdered and two teenagers shot and stabbed in separate attacks on the same evening. It is not the kind of news we should be waking up to in London.

The appalling reality, though, is that on Monday night Tanesha Melbourne was killed as she “chilled with friends” in Tottenham and a 16-year-old was left in a critical condition in hospital.

The headlines yesterday morning were achingly familiar to anyone who has had half an eye on the news in the capital in the past two years. She was the 47th murder in London in 2018. For the first time, London’s murder rate eclipses New York’s.

Knife and gun violence continues to increase. Last year 80 people were stabbed to death and, with 31 already dead in 2018, the figure is on course to get worse. On top of that, mopedrelated violence, acid attacks and gun crime are all on the up.

As someone who has spent his life working with young people, it seems there is a culture of youth violence that needs tackling, rather than just a focus on knife or gun crime.

So far, Sadiq Khan’s approach has largely been reactionary. The policies he has in place aren’t working. In the year since he released his Knife Crime Strategy, stabbings have continued. His response has been largely to blame the Government, rather than change what he is asking the Met to do.

He has also been slow to adapt. He was reluctant to discuss stop and search when he took office, but he eventually bowed to pressure and vowed to increase an intelligence-led approach. Policies like knife wands for schools have appeared flimsy and weak – few schools took up the offer

‘Sadiq Khan continues to rely on tactics that for two years have seen youth violence rise to record levels’

– while the Mayor’s reaction to various tragedies has been at times surprising.

I was stunned by his response when four people were stabbed to death in under 24 hours. Commenting on the nature of the tragedy, the Mayor simply reiterated his call for more schools to take up the offer.

It smacked of a Mayor who has little understanding of the issues if youth violence is to be curbed. He frequently blames cuts in police budgets with no direct correlation to the reality of the situation. In fact, the Met will not face a deficit until at least 2020 because of fundraising powers handed to it by the Government. His focus is perhaps best demonstrated on his Twitter feed. A quick search shows he has tweeted “knife” or “knives” just 32 times, compared with “Brexit” (85) and “government” (99). It all points to a Mayor who is more interested in generating headlines for himself than getting to the root of the issue.

In my report Londoners’ Lives Matter, I highlighted the vacuum to be filled between communities in London and the police. It also pointed to research showing that stop and search is overwhelmingly used in drug searches (59 per cent in February), rather than pat-downs for weapons (18 per cent). I called on the Mayor to set up a long-term Youth Violence Strategy, establish hard-hitting social media and advertising campaigns, learn from effective measures in Glasgow and implement technologies to tackle knife and gun crime.

But nothing has changed and Sadiq Khan continues to rely on tactics that for two years have seen youth violence rise to near record levels. But with a £3 billion budget the Met has the ability to change its approach.

I want to see the Mayor come forward with innovative and sensible solutions and, the minute he does, I and all Londoners will be behind him.

Shaun Bailey is a Conservative London Assembly member