Forces needs help on knife crime, admits police chief

Commander calls for ‘joint effort’ with government and social media companies to tackle an epidemic of offences

- AMY-CLARE MARTIN

A police chief has admitted officers cannot solve knife crime alone as criminals turn to social media to peddle weapons despite a clampdown on sales.

The national lead for policing knife crime Commander Stephen Clayman said officers are tackling the “symptoms” but they do not have the “cure” for an epidemic of offences His comments came as the Home Office announced a £4m funding boost, including investment in new knife detection technology, ahead of a week of police action.

In a candid admission, Commander Clayman said: “Like all emergency services, we are dealing with the symptoms but, while the cure is something we are involved in, we are clearly not going to be the ones that ultimately solve this. Because it’s going to be a joint effort through us, policing partners, government.”

Commander Clayman said tackling knife crime will be a longterm project requiring “generational change” which needs to be evidence-led, addressing complex societal issues including deprivation and lack of opportunity.

Official figures show that knife crime rose by 7 per cent in the year to December 2023 with 49,489 offences recorded, but it has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels. In London, the number of offences soared by 22 per cent with more than 14,000 recorded in the year to September 2023.

Separate figures show eight in 10 teenage homicide victims were killed with a knife in the year to March 2023, compared to seven in 10 in the previous year.