
We need a new approach to knife crime.
Londoners are sick of senseless stabbing after senseless stabbing. It's time for a public health approach.
Successive Mayors and governments have failed to get a grip on knife crime in the capital. That's why Luke is challenging the Government to take three major steps to save young peoples' lives and futures.
- A return to proper, old-fashioned community policing - with more beats, not just more bobbies.
- The ringfencing of funding for Early Intervention schemes - who too often face uncertainty over the future of their great work.
- The implementation of a meaningful Public Health Approach to knife crime - breaking down the silo walls between teachers, nurses, charity workers and so many more working with young people to stop them carrying a knife in the first place.
London's Violence Reduction Unit is a good first step, but without the funding and support it needs, it hasn't yet been able to become the nerve centre of activity it needs to be - finally bringing together all the stakeholders with meaningful engagement and a concerted strategy.
