New rules on sales of knives and acid Curfew for teenagers to stem gang terror
BORIS Johnson has signalled an end to the “soft justice” policies of Theresa May’s government with a crackdown on knife crime and the expansion of prisons.
The Prime Minister’s tough new approach will include curfews for 12-year-olds and will also see a new law introduced to tackle knife and acid sales.
The announcement comes after the brutal machete attack on PC Stuart Outten, 28, in Leyton, east London, earlier this week.
Last night the hero policeman was released from hospital.
A gunman also opened fire in front of children playing in a Birmingham street on Friday, just a day after a 20-year-old was fatally wounded in a nearby driveby shooting.
Writing in today’s Sunday Express, police minister Kit Malthouse – who helped Mr Johnson reduce knife crime when he was London mayor – said: “Sunday Express readers will have felt the same horror as I have at yet another appalling act of knife violence on our streets, this time against one of our own police officers.
“Up and down the land, officers put themselves in danger to keep us safe every day.
“This Government is committed to giving them the support they need, including in their fight to tackle the deeply unsettling rise in knife crime.”
Mr Malthouse’s comments come after tough-talking Home Secretary Priti Patel also signalled a change in direction, saying she wants criminals to “literally feel terror”.
Today’s announcement includes plans to publish strict measures in the Offensive Weapons Act controlling the sale of acid and knives.
It will also make it illegal for firms to deliver knives bought online to under-18s and ban the sale of acids to underage youths in a bid to stop them making their way on to our streets.
In a direct attack on the socalled gangland culture, the Bill will lead to the creation of new Knife Crime Prevention Orders (KCPOS) aimed at preventing young people aged between 12 and 18 from getting involved in knife crime and gangs.
The orders will enable courts to impose conditions – such as curfews or requirements to attend educational courses – that will help people resist being drawn into a life of crime and help police officers manage those at risk in the community.
It is also hoped that the KCPOS will act as a deterrent for those who carry knives. The measure will be piloted once a consultation has been completed.
According to the latest Home Office figures, knife crime is at record levels in the UK with 43,516 offences in the 12 months to the end of March.
This is a shocking 80 per cent increase from the low point in the year ending March 2014, when there were 23,945 offences.
As London Mayor, Mr Johnson made tackling a knife crime a priority and managed to bring the number of attacks down to less than 100 a year.
But under his Labour successor Sadiq Khan, the number of knife crime deaths in London for 2019 so far stands at 84.
Scotland Yard is carrying out 78 murder investigations.
Mr Khan and former prime minister Theresa May have been criticised for significantly reducing police stop and search powers, which has been blamed for the spike in knife crime.
It is understood that Mr Johnson plans to reintroduce the powers – and boost the number of cells available in British prisons.
A government source said “Boris wants to put rocket boosters under the prison-building programme.
“He’s talking about a new megaprison and trying to release cash.
“Prisons are overcrowded. We need better facilities and a better environment where prisoners can do more purposeful activity. It’s all part of making prisons more purposeful.” The plans have been hailed by campaigners who want to see a tough approach to crime.
They are also keen to reverse the reforms proposed by former justice secretary David Gauke, who refused to serve in Mr Johnson’s government because of his opposition to a no-deal Brexit.
Mr Gauke was accused of going soft on crime after he announced plans to abolish prison sentences of six months or less and massively reduce the number of women prisoners.
But these plans have since been ditched, with Mr Johnson backing a tougher line on law and order.
Tory MP Philip Davies, who had been running a “prison works” campaign and was a major critic from the backbenches of Mr Gauke, welcomed Mr Johnson’s new policies.
He said: “Thank goodness Boris Johnson is overturning the wishywashy Left-wing liberal approach to crime that David Gauke presided over. I am delighted he is setting out an agenda for being tough on crime, which is precisely what the public wants to see.
“The Prime Minister has made a brilliant start and this is further evidence of that.”
Currently, Britain’s prisons are operating at 97 per cent capacity and there have been claims that overcrowding is fuelling record levels of violence.
The number of assaults in prisons in the year to March was 34,425 – the highest ever recorded, with the figure including 10,311 assaults on staff.
Under the latest projections, the prison population is expected to grow from 83,007 at present to 86,400 by March 2023.