The Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, has voiced support for schools implementing knife arches to curb children carrying blades. This call to action comes as alarming LBC research reveals a significant rise in the number of women and girls carrying knives, tripling in the past decade. Cooper stresses the urgency of addressing this trend, calling for stricter penalties and proactive measures to prevent young people from carrying knives.
The Home Secretary , Yvette Cooper , has expressed support for schools implementing knife arches to prevent children from carrying blades. This statement comes amidst rising figures revealing an increasing number of girls carrying knives, a trend highlighted by LBC research. Cooper emphasized the ease with which young people can purchase knives online, calling for comprehensive measures to address the root causes of knife carrying among youth.
She cited instances of attacks occurring after school hours, in public transportation, and on streets, stressing the need for immediate action. Cooper further advocated for stricter penalties for children caught with knives, criticizing situations where they were only required to write apology letters. She stressed the necessity of 'proper intervention' to tackle knife crime head-on, urging young people to avoid carrying knives, highlighting the dangers, illegality, and escalation of violence associated with them. LBC's research revealed alarming statistics: the number of women and girls apprehended for carrying knives has tripled in the past decade, surging from fewer than 900 in 2014 to 2790 in 2023/24. Activists attribute this dramatic increase to growing concerns about women's safety, amplified by high-profile cases like the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving Metropolitan Police officer in 2021. The data indicates a nearly 33% rise in women arming themselves since Everard's murder, reflecting a decline in trust in policing. YouGov surveys conducted following Everard's death revealed that nearly half of women had lost faith in their local police force. Cooper acknowledged the figures as 'stark and powerful,' recognizing that women may carry knives out of fear of abuse. However, she emphasized that carrying a knife remains a crime, regardless of the motivation. Her message to women carrying knives was clear: 'Do not carry a knife. It's dangerous, illegal, and it will just make violence worse.' Pastor Lorraine Jones, a knife crime campaigner, echoed this sentiment, stating that the erosion of public safety is driving women to carry knives for protection. Jones, who fears for her own safety daily, lamented the reality of living in a society where such drastic measures are deemed necessary. Statistics from the National Police Chiefs’ Council support these concerns, revealing over a million offences of violence against women and girls (VAWG) recorded in 2022/23, representing one in five police-recorded crimes that year
Knife Crime Home Secretary Yvette Cooper Schools Safety Violence Against Women Social Media Women's Rights
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