Knife offenders to get GPS tags in drive to curb violence

KNIFE crime offenders are to be tagged with GPS devices when they leave prison in a trial scheme to stem violence in London.

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, announced the pilot yesterday as part of a public health approach to tackle “unacceptably high” levels of violent crime in the city.

The year-long trial will target freed offenders in the four boroughs worst hit by knife crime – Lewisham, Lambeth, Croydon and Southwark.

Those deemed likely to reoffend will have their movements checked against locations of reported crime and matches will be shared with police.

Mr Khan said the scheme, to be launched on Feb 18, would help offenders integrate back into society and reduce the risk of reoffending, as well as giving the police information to help their investigations.

There were 128 homicides in London in 2018, the highest number in a calendar year this decade. It came against the backdrop of vast public funding cuts and Scotland Yard’s murder investigation unit losing a quarter of its personnel in a decade.

The latest measures form part of initiatives by the Violence Reduction Unit, which aims to mirror an approach successfully used in Scotland to get police, housing, health and care workers to work together to tackle violence.

The latest murder in the capital came early yesterday morning when a man in his 30s had his throat cut after an apparent row over cigarettes.

Police are still hunting the killer, who is said to have produced a 6in knife following a row which began in an off-licence in East Dulwich.

It came after a night of violence in London in which four youths were arrested on suspicion of attempting to murder a 16-year-old boy, while a 17-year-old was left critically ill after being shot. A 23-year-old man was also in a “critical” condition after being stabbed in Neasden on Saturday.