May urged to rethink searches after knife crime rises
Girl murdered amid wave of violent crime in capital
THERESA MAY must rethink her “catastrophic” reforms to police stop-and-search powers because they have contributed to a spike in knife crime in both London and Yorkshire, MPs have said.
Labour and Conservative MPs in the region urged the Prime Minister to take action with stabbings in England at their highest level in seven years and an outcry over the 50 murders that have taken place in London this year.
They stressed knife crime is also rising in Yorkshire, blaming cuts to police and the PM’s decision while Home Secretary in 2014 to make it harder for officers to use stop-and-search, amid concerns around unfair targeting of black and minority ethnic people.
Labour MPs Holly Lynch and Gill Furniss stressed that minority ethnic families of victims have been calling for stop-and-searches to be stepped up, as Conservative MP Philip Davies said restrictions had a “direct impact” on increased knife crime.
Police recorded 3,460 knife or sharp-object offences in Yorkshire in the year to March 2017,
DETECTIVES INVESTIGATING the murder of a teenage girl who was gunned down in a drive-by attack as she sat chatting with friends in London have made an arrest.
Tanesha Melbourne, 17, inset, was shot dead in Tottenham on Monday, amid a rising wave of violent crime in the capital which meant the number of suspected murders in March was higher than in New York.
The Met Police said yesterday that a 30-year-old man had been arrested in Hackney, east London, on suspicion of murder and was last night being held in custody.
MPs claimed yesterday that Theresa May and Amber Rudd have been “absent while violent crime surges” across the country, amid calls for action to make London safer.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was among a group of 47 MPs urging the Prime Minister and Home Secretary to agree to an urgent meeting with them and London mayor Sadiq Khan to discuss how the Government is planning to tackle “rising levels of violence”.
They argue Mrs May and Ms Rudd have shown “no signs of changing their approach”, with communities “crying out for national leadership” on the issue.
Ministers also “cannot just blame” Labour’s Mr Khan and pretend the Government has no responsibility, the MPs add.
The letter, co-ordinated by Ilford North Labour MP Wes Streeting, was sent to Downing Street and the Home Office following a flurry of violent attacks in the capital, where more than 50 people have been killed since the start of the year.
It states: “Violent crime has been on the rise since 2014 and in recent weeks we have seen too many lives lost on the streets of London to guns and knives. This is neither acceptable nor inevitable.
“More must be done to tackle both crime, and the root causes of crime.
“That is why we are calling on you, the Prime Minister and Home Secretary, to urgently meet with us, along with the mayor, to discuss what more must be done to make our city safer.”
The MPs warn of the impact of funding cuts to the police while probation and prisons are “in chaos”, meaning criminals are leaving “violent and crime-ridden jails unreformed”.
A flurry of attacks saw six more stabbings in London on Thursday, compounding a recent violent crime spike in the capital.
More than 50 people have been killed in the metropolis since the start of the year, more than 30 of whom were fatally knifed.
The pressure on murder detectives is now so great that Scotland Yard has enlisted the support of City of London police to help cope with the caseload.
In the latest spate of stabbings, six youths were attacked within a 90-minute period, including a 13-year-old boy who was seriously wounded after being set upon in Newham, east London, shortly before 7pm on Thursday.
Three youths were arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm with intent, Scotland Yard said.
About an hour earlier, two 15-year-olds were seriously hurt after they were stabbed in Grove Road, Mile End, east London.
A male was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and another youth, 16, who was treated for minor injuries, was arrested for conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm, Tower Hamlets police said.
The attacks have added to the UK’s soaring rate of knife crime, with fatal stabbings in England and Wales at their highest levels since 2010/11.
The escalating violence has been especially acute in the capital, with one former senior police officer saying Scotland Yard appears to have lost control of London’s streets.
Police investigating the Tanesha Melbourne killing were called to Chalgrove Road in Tottenham at 9.35pm on Monday following reports of gunshots.
Paramedics battled for an hour to save her life but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Just 30 minutes later, 16-yearold Amaan Shakoor was shot in Walthamstow and died in hospital the following day.
Officers said they are keeping an open mind about the attack, and at this stage there has been no suggestion that the two killings are linked.
Detective Inspector Beverley Kofi, of the Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: “We are appealing to anybody who witnessed the incident and has not yet come forward, or who in the hours since this shocking murder are privy to information that could help us find those responsible.”
More must be done to tackle crime and the root causes of crime. The letter sent to Downing Street by a group of 47 MPs.