Fight against knife crime 'not working', admits Government » Central Government » 24dash.com

Britain's fight to beat knife crime is "clearly not working", the chairman of the Government's home affairs committee admitted today.

Keith Vaz said the stabbings during the O2 music event in London over the weekend illustrated the "urgent" need to establish better understanding of the causes of knife crime.

So far this year 28 teenagers have died violently in the capital, 22 of them killed with a knife, he said.

During the launch of a cross-party knife crime inquiry, Mr Vaz said: “It is clearly not being dealt with at the moment with the legitimate, appropriate political solutions. They are clearly not working.

"We want to take it beyond a party political discussion to really gain some important facts and figures to go into the community to find the perpetrators - and also establish how this matter should be dealt with."

He said the committee will focus on identifying "effective responses", by improving the availability of data and offender profiles.

Also speaking at the conference in Stockwell, south London, was Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes who said there had been a "dramatic shift" in the culture of knife crime.

He said: "Knives were originally taken because they were seen as cool.

"Then they were taken because young people thought they were safe.

"But now what most people are doing is taking them because of fear.

"There has been a shift - we need people to realise that having them makes you much more likely to be a victim."

He called for parents to educate their children better "not just at the ages of 13 or 14".

He added: "If you do not start teaching them, five, six, seven, I can assure you that it will not work at 13 or 14."

Mr Vaz was speaking after a 27-year-old man was stabbed on Saturday night at the sixth annual Urban Music Awards, honouring stars including Dizzee Rascal, Leona Lewis and Estelle.

The event inside the O2 in Greenwich was halted after 90 minutes as the victim was taken to hospital with "serious but stable injuries".

A 21-year-old man was arrested and bailed in connection with the offence, a Scotland Yard spokesman said.

When asked if the problem was out of control, Mr Vaz replied: "An event hosting several thousand people was suddenly cancelled because of the fact that a few people had knives and were using them - this is a cause for major concern.

"That is why it is important that we are holding this inquiry."

After the meeting heard that many youngsters "felt like caged animals", London's deputy mayor Kit Malthouse called for a return to the days when teenagers could hang out on street corners without being demonised.

Mr Malthouse said of the city's knife crisis: "It is our number one priority and it haunts us pretty much every day we are at City Hall."

He said it was unhelpful to distinguish whether violent crime was going up or down - instead saying that the culture of violent crime was changing.

Peter Nzekwu, 22, from Vauxhall, south London, said: "I felt like a caged animal and I know others felt worse.

"It has become commonplace for people to grow up thinking everyone is against them - that is where change is needed."

Responding to criticism of stop and search tactics employed in recent months by the Metropolitan Police, Commander Mark Simmons said: "We must be respectful, but we must enforce the law making young people feel safe."

Responding to Mr Vaz's comments, a Home Office spokesman said: "We are committed to tackling knife crime and getting knives off our streets.

"Since June we have invested £2 million in targeted action in 10 police force areas under the Tackling Knives Action Programme.

"Already this is delivering results - over 2,200 knives have been seized following targeted stop and search operations, and courts are getting tougher with offenders."

Shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve added: "Keith Vaz has stated the obvious but the Government remain in denial about the scourge of knife crime on our streets."