Leader- knife crime debate cut

How the council compiled its voluntary submission to a recent select committee on youth crime and gangs remains a little mysterious.

The council says there were “no meetings” and there was “no voting in a room”. Perhaps this method of arriving at decisions has become old hat.

A Town Hall spokesperson said the decision was made by pulling together the experience of the council’s gangs unit and its successes over the last four years.

No doubt a 23 per cent reduction in knife crime in the borough last year is a success worth building on.

How this success will be helped by a call from the council for those caught twice in possession of a knife to be compulsorily jailed remains unclear.

These tougher measures were recently tabled by the Conservatives and passed in the House of Commons last month. Critics claim this is a populist policy – a means of appearing tough on knife crime whilst disregarding the complexities of the problem.

Charities such as The Howard League for Penal Reform and the Safer London Foundation have raised concerns over lack of discretion afforded to judges.

Surely support for a knife crime law this contentious should afford a proper debate amongst the public and local politicians?