Brake: Less talk and more action needed to tackle knife crime

3.34.00pm GMT Mon 17th Nov 2008

TACKLING GUN AND KNIFE CRIME IN LONDON

Today the Liberal Democrats have published plans to tackle the growing problem of knife crime in London.

The document, entitled Less talk, more action, highlights several key proposals for reducing knife crime, including: Putting 10,000 extra police on the streets, around 2,000 of which would be in London, paid for by scrapping ID cards Ensuring each Safer Neighbourhood Team includes a trained, dedicated community support officer to identify and work with the young people who are most at risk through schools, youth groups and outreach work Creating a Greater London Youth Volunteer Force to make it easier for young disadvantaged people to volunteer. Activities would be relevant to young people but also teach them important skills

Commenting, Liberal Democrat London Spokesperson and Member of the Home Affairs Select Committee, Tom Brake said:

"Thanks to a decade of Labour, Britain now has the highest rate of youth incarceration and the lowest age of criminal responsibility in Europe.

"The number of stab wounds for under 16s has gone up 62% in the past five years while admissions to hospital for stab wounds for 16-18 year olds have also jumped.

"Between 1995 and 2005 there was an 86% rise in the number of 15 to 17 year-olds in custody.

"Labour has completely failed to rehabilitate offenders, leading to sky-high levels of repeat offending."