Questions & Answers
Q1
Direct Answer
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Context
The MP asked about government actions to tackle the rising rates of knife crime.
What steps her Department is taking to reduce knife crime. The question arises due to increasing concerns over violent incidents involving knives, such as machete attacks and fatal stabbings in her constituency.
This Government are determined to fight knife crime. We have invested over £110 million in 2023-24 to fight knife crime, including investing in 20 violence reduction units, and funding hotspot policing in the most seriously affected areas.
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Assessment & feedback
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Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
The MP welcomed news of legal changes to tighten laws around zombie knives but sought further measures including stop and search.
I welcome the news that the Government are seeking to close the legal loopholes around the sale of so-called zombie knives, but does my right hon. Friend agree that stop and search and the like are powerful tools for the police to get knives off the street and to save lives? Will he also look closely at scan and search to help to detect such weapons?
My hon. Friend is quite right that we are looking to tighten the law. The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 contains a loophole which means zombie knives without threatening writing on the blade are not illegal, and we are going to close that loophole. I agree with him that stop and search is a vital tactic to keep our streets safe when used respectfully. It has been shown to take about 400 knives off the streets monthly in London alone. The use of scanning technology for detecting weapons at a distance has huge potential but currently, it's not ready yet.
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Assessment & feedback
the readiness and timeline of scanning technology deployment
Technology Is Not Ready To Deploy Just Yet
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Q3
Direct Answer
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Context
The MP referenced specific violent incidents in her constituency and noted the ongoing sale of zombie knives despite previous bans.
In 2021, two police officers were attacked with machetes in West Bromwich town centre. In the same year, a 19-year-old boy was stabbed and killed in Great Barr. In 2022, a teenager from my constituency was stabbed on his way to college in Birmingham. While the Minister said we have already banned the sale of zombie knives, that has not stopped people purchasing these dangerous weapons, so I thank the Government for taking the next steps to close the loophole. Will this change be brought forward as soon as possible?
The change certainly will happen as soon as possible. Some of it requires primary legislation, but other elements require secondary legislation and we are definitely going to do that as soon as we can. Once the Online Safety Bill passes Parliament, sales of these knives via online marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace and Amazon will also be prohibited.
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Q4
Partial Answer
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Context
The MP highlighted the significant increase in violence since 2015 and raised concerns about low prosecution rates for violent crime.
We absolutely do need to get a grip on knife crime, which is up by 70% since 2015 alone. Is the Minister content with the fact that only 5% of crimes of violence against the person actually make it to court? If he is not, what is he doing about it?
On the crime statistics, since 2010 violent crimes were double under the last Labour Government compared to now. Knife-enabled crime was 7% lower in the latest year compared with the year ending December 2019. However, we want to do more and hence announced hotspot patrols and criminalising remaining zombie knives. The police are committing to follow all reasonable lines of inquiry where they exist.
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Assessment & feedback
specifics on increasing prosecution rates
We Would Like To Do More
But We Want To Do More
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Q5
Direct Answer
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Context
The MP highlighted the tragic impact of knife crime on communities and inquired about addressing cultural factors contributing to it.
I draw the Minister's attention to the sad fact that most MPs have had the tragedy of knife crime in our constituencies. We had a dreadful incident in Huddersfield. Is it not time that we understand more the culture that produces it? This is about the way in which young people communicate on the internet and the fact that we no longer have many youth clubs or youth services. We used to have wonderful police going into schools to talk about these issues. Can we have that back?
We have violence reduction units designed to provide activities such as those mentioned by the hon. Gentleman. We also fund research and monitor social media through a Met police hub based in Lambeth. These measures aim to tackle knife crime effectively.
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Q6
Direct Answer
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Context
The MP raised concerns about the chronic shortage of detectives and a significant drop in charges for violent crimes, including rapes.
Rapes at knifepoint are at a record high this year. The number of cases has more than doubled since 2015. I am currently supporting a case of a woman violently raped using weapons; the detective told me that he is the only one working on serious sexual violence in his team. There's a chronic shortage of detectives according to the Police Foundation, with over 7,000 vacancies. Is it any wonder that there has been a 60% drop in charge rates since 2015? Labour proposed requiring all police forces to directly recruit background-experienced officers, so what are the Government doing?
We have Operation Soteria Bluestone rolling out around the country which has already increased rape charge rates in early adopting forces by two to three times. Now with record officer numbers, we're targeting individual forces for training and recruiting specialist officers to address serious issues like these.
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Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy