Crime Solicitors

The government have created a new campaign to reduce knife crime aimed to run on social media sites targeting 10-21 year olds.

The government have invested £1.35m in advertisements for an anti-knife crime campaign to be run across digital platforms alongside a nationwide poster campaign aiming specifically at 10 -21 year olds. The website called #KnifeFree has been dedicated to warn of the risks, provide advice and services for support.

The campaign focuses on true stories of teenagers who have been stabbed and have decided not to carry a knife aiming to inspire others to stop this culture of knife crime.

The campaign is a six week long campaign based on research suggesting that real life stories of knife crime allowed young people to empathise with the victims in the situations.

Former Home Secretary, Amber Rudd had said,

‘"The emotional stories at the heart of the new #KnifeFree campaign bring home in powerful fashion just what a far-reaching impact [carrying a knife] can have on a young person's life”.

The government has consulted on new laws on offensive and dangerous weapons including online retail stores from delivering weapons to residential addresses as well as aiming to make it an offence to possess certain dangerous weapons in private.

This has come in response to a spike in the number of knife crimes committed, particularly in London. It was reported the murder rate in London has overtaken New York due to a spike in knife crime committed in the capital. Since February 2018, the Metropolitan Police have investigated 37 murders in London compared to New York where 35 murders were committed.

Both cities have a similar population size; however London’s murder rate rose remarkably since the end of January 2018. Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan’s spokeswoman has stated:

“Our city remains one of the safest in the world ... but Sadiq wants it to be even safer and is working hard to bring an end to this violent scourge.”

Nicholas De Freitas is Director of Crime at Duncan Lewis’ Harrow branch. Nicholas has extensive expertise in all criminal matters, representing both private and legal aid eligible clients. As a Higher Rights Advocate, he has experience in a wide range of criminal proceedings and he has acted as Junior Counsel in a number of murder cases and complex fraud trials. Contact Nicholas on 020 3114 1150 and nicholasd@Duncanlewis.com.

Duncan Lewis Crime Solicitors

Duncan Lewis has a significant practice defending clients in serious and complex criminal cases, including gun and knife crime. We continue to deal with full range of criminal offences from police station representation up to Crown Court trials, appeals and judicial review.

Duncan Lewis' Crime Department has been recognised as a Top Tier and recommended criminal defence practice by Chambers UK 2018 and the Legal 500 2017 Edition.

Contact Duncan Lewis Crime department on 0333 772 0409 for expert legal advice. For our 24 hour service call Duncan Lewis’ emergency assistance on 0333 772 0607.