Knife crime in the Metropolitan police area up 32% since 2010/11

NEW ANALYSIS: Knife Crime in the Metropolitan Police Area Up 32% since 2010/11 – as Labour introduces major crackdown

New analysis from Enfield Labour reveals knife crime has soared a staggering 32% in the Met Police area since the first year of the Conservative government.

But Labour is taking action – on knife crime, anti-social behaviour and combatting a raft of crimes that will help the Government deliver on its landmark mission to secure Safer Streets. The new Crime and Policing Bill, introduced on Tuesday 25 February will:

·     Take tougher action on knife crime, including creating a power to seize, retain and destroy bladed articles found on private property; increasing the maximum penalty for sale of dangerous weapons to under-18s; creating a new criminal offence of possessing a bladed article with the intent to cause harm

·     Tackle antisocial behaviour by giving the police and others stronger powers to tackle antisocial behaviour by introducing Respect Orders; removing the need for police to issue a warning before seizing vehicles, such as off-road bikes being used antisocially and strengthening the use of existing antisocial behaviour powers. The bill also gives ministers the power to issue statutory guidance to councils in England on the enforcement of fly-tipping

·     Protecting retail workers by introducing a new offence of assaulting a retail worker, giving workers in shops up and down the country the protection they need

·     Protecting vulnerable children and adults by introducing a new offence of child criminal exploitation, alongside a civil preventative order designed to stop the abhorrent exploitation of children by criminals

·     Tackle child sexual abuse, including implementing recommendations from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

·     Tackle violence against women and girls by creating new offences criminalising the taking or recording of intimate images or videos without consent or a reasonable belief in consent

·     Give police the powers they need, including creating a new targeted power for the police to enter premises to search for and seize electronically tracked stolen goods, ranging from mobile phones to stolen vehicles and agricultural machinery

Publishing the analysis, Labour’s Ergin Erbil said,

“We’re fighting for a safer Enfield! We all know that knife-crime, anti-social behaviour, theft, and a host of crimes Labour is cracking down on today damage communities and ruin lives.

“Here in London, knife crime has been allowed to rise too far and too fast – but Labour is taking action. Make no mistake – this is a major campaign against crime and criminals that Labour was elected to take on.

“And here in Enfield safer streets is at the heart of everything we do. All neighbourhoods will continue to have a named, contactable police officer dealing with local issues. We’ve worked with the Police and other agencies on Operation Pisces, which has cut crime and focused on the Upper Edmonton, Edmonton Green, and neighbouring areas.”

“From the new Crime and Policing Bill, to Labour’s plans to bring back neighbourhood policing, this country once again has a government that is serious about taking back out streets and town centres, restoring respect for law and order and giving the police the tools they need to do their jobs.”

Knife crime statistics can be found here

In the year to March 2011 there were 12485 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument recorded by police. In the year to September 2024 that figure was 16521.