Theresa May:
Sadiq Khan won the contest to be Mayor of London two years ago promising to make tackling crime his top priority. After two more murders in the capital, bringing the total since January to 39 – more than in New York City – it is a pledge that looks increasingly hollow. More than that, Mr Khan seems to be frozen into inactivity. The city that he leads is facing a violent crime crisis and yet the mayor is doing nothing beyond issuing statements expressing his concern and blaming others for what is happening.
Mr Khan is hamstrung by the countervailing strategies that afflict all politicians for whom virtue signalling is more important than dealing with the realities before them. The mayor said he wanted to “make London safe” while at the same time encouraging police to tackle more “hate crimes” and driving down “unnecessary use of stop and search”. It is conceivable that these policies work against each other. Police spend too much time investigating peripheral offences that matter to minority groups, while failing to deal with the bigger picture of violence and growing lawlessness on the streets.
Limiting stop and search – a policy also supported by Theresa May when she was home secretary – has proved to be a mistake. Cressida Dick, the Met commissioner, has said the fall in stop and search has contributed to the rise in stabbings and has vowed to increase the practice. Yet the police still feel constrained from doing so.
Mr Khan has said that stop and search needs to be “intelligence led”, which is just ducking the issue. His concern is that its disproportionate use against ethnic minorities causes trouble in the communities where it is more likely to be used. But most of the victims of the stabbings and shootings come from these same neighbourhoods.
The mayor is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the Met and his most recent policy document carries a picture of Mr Khan with the words “A Safer City for all Londoners”. Its foreword states: “Safety is my highest priority and the foundation of London’s success as a great place to live, work, visit and do business.”
As a global city with millions of tourists every year, London has much to lose from being seen abroad as a dangerous place to visit even if most of the violent crime is well away from the capital’s centre. Mr Khan, the Met and the Government must not let that happen.