Knife crime tops Brown's agenda

Knife crime

Monday, 14, Jul 2008 12:00

The prime minister has laid out his plans for tackling knife crime in his monthly press conference.

Gordon Brown explained a combination of enforcement, punishment and prevention will be employed to reduce the number of stab victims, following a spate of fatal incidents in recent days.

Stabbings in West Bromwich and Bolton followed four men being murdered in London last Thursday. The capital has already seen 20 teenagers murdered this year, compared to 27 in 2007.

"Let us be clear - if you carry a knife, our objective and determination is you will be caught, you will be prosecuted, you will be punished," the prime minister told reporters.

"I wouldn't like people to think it's just one measure alone."

Increased checks are being made to ensure young people are not carrying knives. More metal detectors, stop and search powers and more visible policing were among the measures announced.

On punishment, Mr Brown pressed the "presumption to prosecute" and said sentences were being increased to crack down on those continuing to persist.

And on prevention he pressed the importance of making knife-carrying a morally unacceptable form of behaviour.

"I believe bullying has become unacceptable in our country and there's a general public mood about that. We have got to make the same antipathy towards the carrying of knives," he said.

"I want every young person in London to know it is unacceptable to go out… carrying a knife. The message has got to be very clear – you are more at risk carrying a knife than not carrying a knife. If you're caught with a knife, you will be prosecuted and you will be punished."

Up to 110,000 families identified as at-risk by the government will receive specific attention through the family intervention programmes, he explained. These will ensure parents are "forced to face up to their responsibilities".