LONDON: Nearly one young person a week has been stabbed to death in London so far this year, leaving British authorities hunting for ways to stop the increasing violence.
Twenty-seven people under the age of 25 have been stabbed to death in London since the start of 2017, according to figures from city hall.
The alarming figure is but “the tip of the iceberg” according to Patrick Green from the Ben Kinsella Trust, an educational organization set up in memory of a teenage stabbing victim.
Police registered more than 12,100 knife attacks which left 4,400 people injured between April last year and March, the highest figure in five years.
“Many of the victims of stabbing are left with permanent disabilities, permanent scars, and the most awful disability which isn’t reported is the mental trauma,” Green told AFP.
“The fact that you recover doesn’t mean that you return to your normal life,” he added.
In contrast to widely held perceptions, the majority of attacks are unrelated to organized crime. Three out of four cases involve individuals who carry a knive because they believe it will make them feel safer.
“This can be a self-fulfilling prophecy, where young people equip themselves with a knife and in doing so significantly up the ante of their chances of becoming a knife victim,” said Bernard Hogan Howe, the former head of London’s Metropolitan Police who retired last year.
One proposal to cut knife crime was announced on Tuesday by Interior Minister Amber Rudd, who wants to ban the possession of outlawed weapons such as zombie knives — often curved blades inspired by horror films — and knuckledusters on private properties.
As part of a planned consultation on knife crime, the government will also examine whether to extend a ban on possessing a knife in public places and schools to include universities.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has spearheaded a £7-million program (7.9 million euros), which includes schools where knife crime is prevalent being given metal detectors.
In announcing the plans last month, the mayor hit out at government cuts which he said had led to the closure of 30 youth centers that could have stopped young people turning to crime.
“The only way we can truly beat the scourge of knife crime on our streets is by properly funding youth services,” Khan said.
Police have been visiting hundreds of schools as part of their “Operation Sceptre,” involving everything from quizzes on criminal responsibility to self-esteem classes.
The operation to tackle knife crime was launched in July 2015 and also sees officers carry out checks on businesses selling knives, in addition to confiscating weapons sold illegally.
Bins have been left in public places for people to dump any banned weapons without fear of being arrested.
But at the same time, the crackdown is facing an uphill struggle with knife attacks increasing by 24 percent last year.
Since 2010 the number of police officers in the British capital has been cut by 14 percent.
“It would be a naive answer to say that if you cut a significant amount out of an organization you don’t have any consequences,” said Martin Hewitt, assistant police commissioner.
With funds limited, the police have teamed up with hospitals to collect and share anonymous information on each new attack. The database in intended to help emergency services both prevent and better respond to knife crime.
“Austerity creates a catalyst for change, and hopefully that can be a positive change,” said John Poyton, director of the RedThread charity which addresses youth violence.
London hunts for ways to stop deadly youth stabbings
London hunts for ways to stop deadly youth stabbings
Hundreds in London protest against Beijing ‘mega embassy’
- Protesters, their faces mostly covered with scarves or masks, chanted “No to Chinese embassy“
- The latest protest came ahead of an expected decision this week
LONDON: Hundreds of people on Saturday rallied in London against Beijing’s controversial new “mega” embassy, days ahead of a decision on the plan.
Protesters, their faces mostly covered with scarves or masks, chanted “No to Chinese embassy” and waved flags reading “Free Hong Kong. Revolution now.”
Others held up placards with slogans such as “MI5 warned. Labour kneeled,” referring to the UK’s domestic intelligence agency and Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s ruling party.
Others read: “CCP (Chinese Communist Party) is watching you. Stop the mega embassy.”
China has for several years been trying to relocate its embassy, currently in the British capital’s upmarket Marylebone district, to the sprawling historic site in the shadow of the Tower of London.
The move has sparked fierce opposition from nearby residents, rights groups and critics of China’s ruling Communist Party.
The latest protest came ahead of an expected decision this week.
Benedict Rogers, head of the human rights group Hong Kong Watch said if it got the go-ahead it was “highly likely” that the site “will be used for espionage,” citing the sensitive underground communications cables close to the site.
He said China had already been “carrying out a campaign of transnational repression against different diaspora communities” and other critics and predicted that that would “increase and intensify.”
Beijing ‘operations base’ -
A protester who gave his name only as Brandon, for fear of reprisals, said the plans raised a “lot of concerns.”
The 23-year-old bank employee, originally from Hong Kong but now living near Manchester in northwestern England, said many Hong Kongers had moved to the UK “to avoid authoritarian rule in China.”
But they now found there could be an embassy in London serving as an “operations base” for Beijing.
“I don’t think it’s good for anyone except the Chinese government,” he said.
Another demonstrator, who did not to give her name, called on Starmer to “step back and stop it (the plan) because there is a high risk to the national security of the UK, not only Hong Kongers.”
The 60-year-old warehouse worker, also originally from Hong Kong and now living in Manchester, said the embassy would be a “spy center not only to watch the UK but the whole of Europe.”
Speakers at the rally throwing their weight behind the campaign to stop the embassy included Kemi Badenoch, leader of the main opposition Conservative Party.
British MPs voiced major security concerns earlier this week after a leading daily reported the site would house 208 secret rooms, including a “hidden chamber.”
The Daily Telegraph said it had obtained unredacted plans for the vast new building which would stand on the historical site of the former Royal Mint.
It showed that Beijing reportedly plans to construct a single “concealed chamber” among “secret rooms” underneath the embassy which would be placed alongside the underground communications cables.
