Responding to the new official crime statistics, released
today, which show knife crime continuing to rise to a new record
high, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson said:
“These statistics are heart-breaking. Far too many young people
are having their lives destroyed by knives and gangs. We urgently
need to break the grip of this epidemic of serious violence.
“The Conservatives’ approach has clearly failed. Their huge surge
in suspicion-less Stop and Search is wasting police time and
undermining crucial trust in communities, while knife crime
continues to rise.
“Instead of the Tories’ pointless headline-grabbing gestures,
Liberal Democrats are arguing for an evidence-based approach that
will actually make our communities safer. That means more police,
more youth services and a proper public health approach to
serious violence.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
The bulletin Crime in England and Wales: year ending
September 2019, published today by the Office for National
Statistics, is available here.
It shows that the number of offences involving knives or sharp
instruments recorded by the police rose by 7% from the year
ending September 2018 to the year ending September 2019.
The latest Police powers and procedures, England and
Wales statistics, published by the Home Office in
October and available here,
show that the number of suspicion-less Stop and Searches under
Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act have
increased twentyfold in the last two years, from 631 in 2016-17
to 13,175 in 2018-19.
