Decisions made by Boris Johnson when he was Mayor of London are fuelling the city’s knife crime epidemic, a former top cop at the Met has said.
Ex-officer turned Lib Dem Lord Brian Paddick has said that PM hopeful Mr Johnson oversaw the “devastation of community policing” in London – which is now helping to fuel knife crime violence in the capital.
Lord Paddick, was an Assistant Commissioner at the Met until 2007 and stood against Mr Johnson twice for London Mayor in 2008 and 2012.
Sharing his five-point plan to tackle knife crime exclusively with the Mirror, the Lib Dem peer said: “Knife crime is a public health emergency, but the former Mayor’s response is like the future Prime Minister’s response to Brexit : all waffle, distortion, but no real solutions.”
(Image: Getty Images)
Lord Paddick, who is leading a debate on knife crime in the House of Lords on Thursday said that as Mayor of London Mr Johnson’s decisions have contributed to the violence on the streets.
More than 30 have been killed after stabbings in the capital since the start of 2019.
Last year was London’s bloodiest in almost a decade, as the number of murders reached 135
Mr Johnson has bragged about his record as Mayor claiming that he “cut the murder rate by 50%”.
In his term as the murder rate fell from 155 in 2008 to a low of 94 in 2014 but rose again before he left office reaching 109 by 2016.
While Mayor, Mr Johnson accepted £600million in cuts to Met budget from central government and introduced the policy of closing local police stations was introduced.
(Image: Getty)
Lord Paddick told the Mirror: “Not only is there no visible uniformed presence to deter those who want to carry knives but increasingly young people feel they need to carry a knife as there is no one to protect them.
“That is why the Liberal Democrats have come forward with a five point plan to tackle the knife crime crisis.”
The plan includes tackling in work poverty to allow parents to spend more time with their children, reversing cuts to community policing and “inclusive education” to make sure at risk teens are aware of the realities of gang membership.
Lord Paddick added: “What we need is to enact a public health approach which is cohesive and sees government departments working together; not only to turn back the cuts to community policing but to also address other factors such as in work poverty and school exclusions.
“By enacting the Liberal Democrat plan the new Prime Minister can ensure we move towards a society where our young people are safe on our streets.”
Lord Paddick’s five point knife crime plan
- Enabling parents to be there for their children – tackling in-work poverty & providing the support parents and their children need.
- Safe and healthy alternatives to gangs – providing a positive safety-net for those whose parents can’t provide the support their children need.
- Healing the damage caused by Adverse Childhood Experiences – addressing the psychological impact, intervention at ‘teachable moments’.
- Inclusive education – fewer excluded pupils, adaptable education that addresses every pupil’s needs, including teaching the realities of criminal gangs.
- United against knife crime – restoring community policing so police & communities can work, on the same side, against the knife carriers.
