Knife crime ‘like an infectious killer disease’ say Javid and May
Two victims in critical condition and two are seriously hurt following ‘senseless’ acts of violence
KNIFE offenders will be treated like would-be jihadists under measures announced today by Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, to crack down on violent crime.
Under a statutory “public health duty”, police, hospitals, schools and other public bodies would be required to report those at risk of being drawn into knife crime.
Writing jointly in the Daily Mail today, Theresa May and Mr Javid say knife crime must be treated “like an infectious disease killing our children”.
Together, they pledge: “We must and will use every tool and tactic at our disposal to deter young people from carrying knives.
“We cannot try to simply arrest our way out of this situation, dealing with people only after they have broken the law.
“After all, were it an infectious disease killing our children, you would not expect the authorities to just focus on treating the symptoms.”
Under new measures pub- lic bodies would have to alert other agencies if they thought a young person was in danger – such as turning up at A&E with a suspicious injury, absenteeism or worrying behaviour at school or problems at home.
Children would be offered support to stop them going on to commit serious violence or being groomed by gangs, similar to the way the Government’s Prevent programme identifies and targets children at risk of being drawn into extremism.
SCOTLAND YARD officers were last night urgently hunting a knife-wielding man who stabbed four strangers in the space of a few hours after approaching them at random.
A 45-year-old woman and a 23-yearold man were left in a critical condition in hospital and two others were seriously hurt following what detectives described as a series of “senseless and cowardly” attacks.
Officers flooded the streets of Edmonton in north London and warned the public to be vigilant following the spate of linked knifings which occurred in the space of just over 12 hours.
The attacker was described as a black man, approximately 6ft 3in tall, of skinny build and wearing dark clothing, possibly a hooded top.
The incidents followed another upsurge of bloody violence across the country with at least six fatal stabbings in recent days.
Today Theresa May, the Prime Minister, will host a major knife crime summit at Downing Street as the police desperately try to get a grip on the rising tide of violence.
The north London stabbings, which police are linking, began on Saturday evening when a 45-year-old woman was approached by a man and knifed once in the back as she walked along residential Aberdeen Road in Edmonton. Locals who heard the woman’s screams ran to her aid and tended to her until the paramedics arrived.
She was taken to an east London hospital where her condition was last night described as critical.
Around four hours later the same attacker is believed to have approached a 52-year-old man on Park Avenue in Edmonton around three miles away, stabbing him more than once.
He was taken to an east London hospital for treatment where his condition was described as not life-threatening.
A few hours later, just before 4am, police received reports that another person had been stabbed in the area.
This time they found a 23-year-old man close to Seven Sisters Tube station suffering from knife injuries.
Police said initial investigations indicated he had been stabbed in the Silver Street area around three miles away but made his way to Seven Sisters before collapsing.
The last incident took place yesterday at 9.43am, when police received re- ports that a man had been stabbed in the back in Brettenham Road in Walthamstow. Police said while the victim’s injuries were not life threatening, they were potentially life- changing.
Det Ch Insp Stuart Smillie from the Met Police said they were treating the incidents as a potential mental health issue and urged people to remain vigilant. He said: “Police are treating the four stabbing related incidents as potentially linked. The four victims are all from different backgrounds and appear to have been selected at random … There is nothing to suggest this incident is terror related.
“We are working on the hypothesis that the single male suspect is acting alone and mental health issues may be a factor. All of the people he has targeted have been walking alone and he has approached from behind without warning. Members of the public who have information about this suspect or have spotted someone acting suspiciously who matches his description are advised to call police on 999 and not to approach the man.” There have been more than 20 fatal stabbings across the capital since the start of the year, with two knife murders in the past few days.
Two men have been arrested on suspicion of GBH following the stabbings.
A man aged in his 40s was arrested at a residential address in Edmonton on suspicion of GBH and taken into custody at a north London police station.
The first man arrested on suspicion of GBH also remains in custody as police investigate if he is the individual behind the attacks. DCI Smillie said: “Police activity will continue around the clock in and around the area.”