The British Prime Minister aims to halve knife attacks within the next ten years.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised on Monday, September 9, during a meeting at Downing Street to fight against the online sale of machetes and knives, which are easily accessible to young people and which claim dozens of victims each year.
The new Labour government has set itself the target of halving knife attacks in the next ten years, a scourge in the country. From machetes to knives inspired by gang culture, these weapons are “too easily accessible online or by mail”denounced Keir Starmer, former attorney general for England and Wales.
Stylish knives «zombie»
The government has already announced a ban on machetes and style knives «zombie» (double-edged weapons with curved blades) which is due to come into force on 24 September 2024. Their owners have been called upon to return them without there being any “repercussions” with the police or associations before this date. The British authorities now want “filling the gaps” on the online sale of these weapons, and toughen penalties for those who possess them.
Knife crime has increased by 80% since 2015, and nearly 250 people died between July 2022 and June 2023 in England and Wales, according to the Office for National Statistics. In late July, three girls were killed by a teenager in Southport, northern England, an attack that sparked a week of far-right riots in the UK.
A coalition to tackle the causes of this crime
Keir Starmer also launched a coalition on Monday, along with actor Idris Elba, to tackle the causes of this crime. According to the associations, it is linked to poverty, lack of opportunities, public services and mental health care for young people. This coalition will bring together the police, the Home Office services, specialist associations, victims’ families and youth and sport services. The actor «The Wire»committed to the subject, welcomed this start of “common reflection”hoping that it would prevent young people like her ten-year-old son from one day falling into this type of crime.
