Mayor hits out at call to move funds to tackle knife crime
LONDON MAYOR Sadiq Khan has rebuked demands by Philip Hammond that police should shift existing resources into tackling knife crime rather than expect more funding.
In the wake of a string of fatal stabbings on Britain’s streets, Mr Khan said forces in the capital are already prioritising violent crime – and he insisted moving funds will not fill the “massive hole” left by central Government cuts.
The Chancellor has come under fire for telling forces to move officers away from “lower priority” crime and on to knife violence.
His comments, which also included a suggestion that public services would get more cash if MPs vote for Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal, were rejected by Mr Khan.
During a housing visit in north London he said: “In London we are prioritising our efforts towards tackling violent crime, tackling knife crime.”
Mr Hammond insisted that police budgets are rising, and said knife crime is “an immediate problem, you cannot solve it by recruiting and training more officers – that takes time”.
A HEADTEACHER in West Yorkshire has dismissed suggestions that knife crime is linked to exclusions as schools seek to secure better exam results.
Three of Yorkshire’s four crime commissioners co-signed a letter to the Prime Minister this week warning of a “broken” system, with Ofsted head Amanda Spielman yesterday arguing against accusations.
Police have called for a reverse in the cuts to the number of officers under austerity measures, but Chancellor Philip Hammond on Thursday told forces to refocus their existing resources. Now, the principal of Minsthorpe Community College in South Elmsall has warned that the Government’s “mess” in the education system is entirely of its own making.
“As ever, the Government focus is on the symptoms – not the cause,” Ray Henshaw said.
“No wonder, because their appalling interventions in education over the past six years are the cause of the current malaise.”
A focus on high-stakes testing and an out-of-touch curriculum are impacting upon a generation of young people who are becoming disengaged, he warns.
“The more disengaged these students become the more badly behaved they become and that is the vicious circle that schools are now trapped in.”
Crime Commissioners in West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Humberside, backed by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, were among those to issue a warning.
Many of the individuals committing violent offences have been excluded from school, they said, calling for an end to unofficial “off-rolling” which sees difficult pupils removed from school rolls to improve results. Figures show that permanent exclusions in England increased by 56 per cent between 2013-14 and 201617.
Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said there are times when exclusions are necessary: “The causes and not just the symptoms need to be urgently looked at to ensure that it is tackled effectively.”