The fast food chains McDonalds and KFC have been praised for good practice in the Mayor of London’s new Knife Crime Strategy. According to the document, knife crime is on the rise around the country; much of it to do with street robbery and violence.
A ‘City Safe Havens’ scheme will be expanded, whereby sites offer a place of safety to anyone under attack, will include Transport for London (TfL) and the top 20 fast food outlets in London, with McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken already on board. The capital has 600 such places, including City Hall (pictured).
The strategy document says: “Fast food restaurants are amongst the hotspots for knife crime, operating into the early hours and attracting a young clientele. In partnership with the MPS [Metropolitan Police Service] we are identifying the fast food outlets where violence has occurred. We recognise that this violence is not linked to the restaurants themselves, but rather to the locations where young people congregate, much like transport hubs. However we must do more to ensure that these locations are safe places. We will work with major fast food outlets and partners to provide additional training for staff, equipment and other support to make these locations safe. We will convene the top 20 most affected areas and work with them to reduce knife crime incidences in and around their restaurants, building on good practice.”
As for schools, a Mayoral ‘safer schools standard’ is promised. London schools in areas where knife crime is most prevalent will have metal detecting knife wands, and every school will have a nominated Met ‘Safer Schools Officer’.
For the Metropolitan Police to use stop and search (‘more targeted, intelligence-led’) in the best possible way, the Mayor is supporting the Met in rolling out judgement training for officers, to improve decision-making in tough situations. By the end of this year all front-line Met officers will be equipped with Body Worn Video cameras.
On the responsible sales of knives, the Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan calls on retailers to take ‘necessary steps to stop young people purchasing or shoplifting knives’. He is reviewing the feasibility of a licensing scheme for retailers who sell knives, similar to the one based in Scotland, under the Custodial Sentences and Weapons (Scotland) Act 2007. As for retailers meeting their legal requirements, and being inspected by local government, the document encourages the ‘Primary Authority’ approach, whereby a retailer forms a legally recognised partnership with one council, that serves for all others.
Also planned is more test purchasing by the Met and Trading Standards, to see if knives are being sold to minors and knives they are being stored appropriately; and including online sales. Talking of online, the document wants social media organisations to ensure online videos which glorify knife crime are quickly taken down.
The document also covers victims, and promises ‘a toolkit with information and advice on what to do in the aftermath of a knife crime, aimed to help front line workers such as teachers and doctors’.
For the 41-page Mayor’s new Knife Crime Strategy visit: www.london.gov.uk/knife-crime.
What they say
Sadiq Khan said: “Every death on the streets of London is an utter tragedy, and I am deeply concerned about the rise in knife crime on London’s streets. Dozens of families have been bereaved; many more have seen their loved ones severely injured. We need to send a strong signal that carrying and using knives is totally and utterly unacceptable. And we need to do more to educate young people around the dangers of carrying knives if we are to cut injuries and deaths.
“My new strategy brings together many organisations, groups, communities and individuals and their expertise and passion to help solve this problem. Because we’ve got to work together – with families, communities and young people. This cannot, and must not, be left just to the police to tackle – only by all agencies across London working together can we root out the scourge of knife crime.
“Young Londoners have lost tens of millions of pounds in funding for youth services since 2011 and this simply has to stop. The only way we can truly beat the scourge of knife crime on our streets is by properly funding youth services – the Government needs to step up, reverse these cuts and help provide the services we need to tackle knife crime.
“No young Londoner should have to accept crime and violence as a way of life. That is what initiatives like Dwaynamics are all about – they are absolutely vital in the fight against knife crime, helping to protect vulnerable children and young adults, and lead them away from a life of crime. To support more of this good work I am announcing funding for grass-roots activities to help protect and nurture children and bear down on crime.
“We must not and we will not give up on our young people. We are working to provide them with the skills, the resources and the confidence they need to turn away from knives and lead the life they deserve in our city.”
Welcoming the Mayor’s measures, Met Commissioner Cressida Dick said: “Despite everything that has been happening in London in recent weeks – knife crime remains a top priority for me and the Met. The reason for this is simple – far too many people are carrying knives, too many are committing crimes with those knives and too many are getting injured or killed.
But we absolutely cannot deal with this problem though enforcement alone. We need to change attitudes and behaviours and for that to happen we need partners and communities to join the fray. In short; we need everyone to step up and do their bit. Together we can and must address the reasons people are carrying knives, we can and must dispel the myth that a knife will make you safer.”
