EXCLUSIVE: Labour's policing chief hails knife crime fall and vows steps to save lives
Policing Minister Sarah Jones told The Mirror she welcomes a 5% fall in knife crime incidents in the year to June - but said there is more work to be done to stop more tragedies
A drop in knife crime and fatal stabbings has been branded "encouraging" by Labour's policing minister.
But Sarah Jones said much more needs to be done following a 5% annual fall in a year. Data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed robberies using blades fell by 8% in England and Wales.
There were 51,527 knife offences in the 12 months to June, compared to 54,215 the previous year. Labour has vowed to cut such crimes by half within a decade.
The raft of data showed violent crime fell by 2% compared to the previous year, while homicides were at their lowest level since 2014 following a 6% drop to 518.
Fatal stabbings were down by 18%, the ONS data revealed. Ms Jones told The Mirror : “We know all too well that knife crime ruins lives, devastates families and hurts communities. That’s why tackling it remains one of our most urgent priorities and, as the latest crime statistics show, its one we’re making progress on.
“The latest figures show a clear and encouraging trend. Knife robberies are offences down 10% across most affected areas. That’s real progress.
“In the seven force areas where knife robbery was most concentrated, we launched a dedicated taskforce last year and, since then, some areas like the West Midlands have seen a significant 30% drop.”
Ms Jones said the Government is rolling out further measures to drive down knife crime. These include more work to identify young people at risk and ramping up neighbourhood policing with 13,000 more officers by 2029.
She also pointed to Labour’s ban on zombie-style machetes and knives and ninja swords. Over the summer forces launched a nationwide blitz in over 600 town centres.
The policing minister said: “Going further, we’re also piloting new multi-agency new partnerships on the ground to proactively identify and refer vulnerable teenagers as well as providing a range of different support services much earlier, including Young Futures Hubs.
“But we know there’s more to do. The mission isn’t over and we won’t stop until it’s complete.”
Ms Jones continued: “Every young life saved is a step forward, and we will keep going until every street is safer.”
It comes after recent provisional data for NHS hospitals showed a 10% decrease in admissions for assault by a sharp object.
This fell to 3,460 admissions, a 27% drop compared to the year ending March 2020.