It all started with a knock on the door. The kind of knock that too many parents have experienced and too many more dread.
Last week, a woman from West Bromwich told me her story. She had already heard through friends that something had happened that night. Her sister was out searching the local hospitals. She had rung the police and been told someone would be there soon. Then she heard a knock on the front door. She told me that what happened to her son was what she was always worried about.
“He was the kind of person who always protected his friends. That’s what happened—he stepped in front of his friend to protect him and he was stabbed.”
I cannot begin to understand how this young boy’s mother and the siblings he left behind felt that evening.
The West Midlands has the highest rate of knife crime per capita of any region in England. Much like the rest of the country, it’s a trend that’s only been going in one direction – upwards.
I secured a debate in Parliament last week to discuss preventing knife crime in the West Midlands.
Little did we know that as were discussing the issue in Parliament, a fatal stabbing was taking place in Birmingham and a 12-year-old boy died from his injuries.
Making our streets safe and protecting young people is a central pledge of the new Labour government. We’ve made the commitment to halve knife crime in a decade – which is not easy to achieve, but it’s essential to stop tragedies like this.
To meet this aim we need to see resources going to the police, restrictions on the sale of these deadly weapons and critically, intervention and support for young people at-risk of getting involved in violence.
After years of cuts to police services in the West Midlands, our region has been left with 800 fewer police officers and 500 fewer police community support officers than we had in 2010.
The knock-on effect of that is obvious. It is not just seeing police walking around our town centres and crime hotspots that is important – we need police and PCSOs to have the time and space to build community relationships and gain the trust and vital intelligence that can stop crime.
The Government recognise the importance of this have committed to recruiting an extra 13,000 police and PCSOs across the country.
Another huge issue is access to weapons – both zombie-style knives and machetes, as well as kitchen knives which are too easily ordered straight to young people’s doors.
Before Christmas we had a dreadful incident when young men were running round West Bromwich in broad daylight wearing balaclavas and wielding machetes. That was terrifying for the people who were there and has a huge knock-on effect on local businesses and the entire area.
The day after the debate, the government announced new rules to clamp down on underage people buying knives online. Rather than processes which see ‘ID presented on delivery’ – which often doesn’t happen – a two-step age verification will now be needed for the purchase of knives online. This is in addition to the ban on selling zombie-knives and machetes that came into force in September – and the government are looking at what more can be done to make online retailers personally liable if they breach this.
Often though, intervening at the point at which a young person is trying to buy a knife is too late. Early and consistent support is essential to keep young people away from violence.
This is something I heard first-hand from a man who was involved in a deadly murder using a knife. He served 14 years in prison, and when I spoke to him he expressed his shame and remorse for his choices on the night of the murder. He also stressed that we need education from an early age, in the right way, delivered by the right people.
‘The authenticity and realness and empathy is so important,’ he said. ‘You need somebody like me who has the life experience. So you can openly talk to these young people about their home life, parents, friends, family, hobbies, hopes and dreams. And build the trust and rapport. And show love…Take them on positive trips—take them places they’d never usually be able to afford and show them that this could be your life.’
Having spent so much of his life so far in prison, he now wants to work with young people to stop them following the same path of violence and reducing the deadly ripple effects of these killings.
Knife crime does not just destroy families. It destroys communities. It destroys towns centres when people are afraid.
I am proud that this Government is so committed to stopping the nightmare of knife crime in our communities, and I see it as my role as the local MP to do everything I can to be part of that.
Knife crime is tearing West Midlands communities apart – here’s what we can do to stem the violence epidemic
