Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Violent Crime: Young People

Monday 21 October 2024 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government aims to halve knife crime over the next decade.
  • Young Futures programme includes youth hubs to address prevention of young people drawn into crime.
  • Local partnerships and police and crime commissioners play a crucial role in reducing serious violence and targeting at-risk youth.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Florence Eshalomi Labour (Co-op) Vauxhall and Camberwell Green
Crime & Law Enforcement
Context

The question arises from the high incidence of knife crime, particularly affecting young individuals in urban areas. The government has set a mission to halve knife crime over the next decade.

Question

What steps her Department is taking to help prevent young people from becoming involved in violent crime. Knife crime takes far too many young lives in this country, so the Government have set a mission—not just for the Government but for policing and local communities right across the country—to halve knife crime over the next decade.

Answer from Yvette Cooper

Knife crime takes far too many young lives in this country, so the Government have set a mission—not just for the Government but for policing and local communities right across the country—to halve knife crime over the next decade. As part of that, we have already implemented the ban on zombie knives and zombie-style machetes, and we will now act quickly to ban ninja swords following the campaigning by Pooja Kanda after the death of her son.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about detailed steps taken to prevent young people from engaging in violent crime was not directly addressed; instead, general measures like banning certain types of knives were mentioned.

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Q2 Florence Eshalomi Labour (Co-op) Vauxhall and Camberwell Green
Crime & Law Enforcement Children & Families
Context

The issue of gang-associated girls being drawn into crime, particularly through rape and sexual exploitation, highlights a need for targeted support within existing programmes. Organisations such as Abianda and Milk Honey Bees work to provide this support.

Question

I thank the Home Secretary for that reply on knife crime. I welcome the Government's commitment in the Young Futures programme to preventing young people from being drawn into crime. A number of gang-associated girls are drawn into crime, and although rape and sexual exploitation is such a traumatising experience, many of those young girls do not see themselves as victims. Fantastic organisations such as Abianda and Milk Honey Bees work to support women. Will the Department consider providing tailored support for young women through the Young Futures programme?

Answer from Yvette Cooper

My hon. Friend makes an important point. I know that she has championed that issue over many years. The Young Futures programme will include youth hubs to draw together services around young people—I used the concept of a teenage Sure Start to bring young people's services together. We also need youth prevention programmes across all areas. She is right to highlight that this must be about young girls as well as young boys to ensure that we tackle the threats to young people's safety from violent crime.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask for tailored support for young women was not directly addressed; instead, a general statement on the importance of including young girls in prevention programmes was given.

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Q3 Mims Davies Con East Grinstead and Uckfield
Policing & Resources Crime & Law Enforcement Local Government
Context

The role of police and crime commissioners in providing local preventive measures is questioned, with a specific reference to Katie Bourne in Sussex. There is concern about the continuation of this support.

Question

Helping young people to stay safe, and to have somewhere to go and, crucially, someone to talk to, is key to their transition in life, particularly to prevent them from being drawn into antisocial behaviour, retail crime and knife or gang-related crime. Could the Home Secretary confirm that, through devolution, there will be continued support for police and crime commissioners, such as Katie Bourne in Sussex, who can provide a direct link between residents' concerns about their young people and work with local police to take preventive measures?

Answer from Yvette Cooper

Police and crime commissioners have a crucial role to play as part of the mission to reduce serious violence, as do local authorities. The hon. Lady is right that local partnerships will best be able to target young people who are at greatest risk, and ensure that proper prevention programmes are in place. As we know, many of those services have been hollowed out over a long period, and it is important that we have partnership working to rebuild them. I hope that we can work cross-party on that—not just with police and crime commissioners but with MPs across the country.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask for confirmation of continued support was not directly addressed; instead, a general statement about the importance of local partnerships and cross-party work was given.

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