Knife Crime kills highest number of young people in nearly a decade (6 December 2017)

According to statistics from the Home Office, the number of children and teenagers dying from knife crime related injuries is the worst in nearly a decade with 35 young people in England and Wales being killed in 2017.

The statistics show that 2017 is the third worst year for knife crime deaths amongst young people since 1977. 2007 was the worst year with 48 young people dying as a result of knife crime, followed by 2008 which saw 42 deaths.

Labour MP for Croydon Central and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on knife crime, Sarah Jones, said;

“These figures confirm that this is a public health crisis and we need intervention now, with a 10-year plan to tackle the causes as well as the crime.”

The first death this year was seven year old Katie Rough who was stabbed and smothered to death when she was playing in a field near her home. Her killer – who remains unnamed – was 15 at the time and was found guilty of manslaughter by diminished responsibility. It was later revealed that a full psychiatric assessment had been requested for the killer and the possibility of psychosis had been highlighted a month before Katie died, yet no investigation was undertaken.

The first teenager to be killed this year was 19 year old Djodjo Nsaka who was stabbed because of a ‘dirty look’. 15 year-old Quamari Barnes is one of the youngest victims, he died after he was stabbed outside his school gates in Willesden, north-west London. His killer was jailed for 14 years earlier this year.

In London, nearly 70% of the victims are black, male teenagers. There have been 88 deaths of black children and teenagers in London in the last decade. Nearly a third of the total statistics for England and Wales are young black males.

These figures indicate that although police have been increasing their efforts to combat knife crime, the underlying reasons for such crimes are not being tackled. In the case of Katie Rough, her killer had severe mental health problems but had not received any help or attention. The NHS reveal that one in four people in the UK suffer from mental health issues, a figure that has risen significantly in the last few years.

Richard Garside, director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies pointed out that;

“Most of these deaths have been concentrated in neighbourhoods where young people’s life chances have been limited by lack of investment, poor education, unemployment and racism.”

Again this suggests that there are underlying problems that need to be addressed if knife crime is to be combatted successfully. In Scotland a nationwide approach has been adopted and since 2011 only six children and teenagers have been killed as a result of knife crime. It may be time for England and Wales to adopt a similar approach.

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