VerbatimParliament, as it happens

Knives: Crime

Asked by Ben Obese-JectyConservativeHome OfficeTabled Answered 19 December 2024UIN 19888

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has to tackle knife crime amongst (a) young people and (b) young people in the black community.

Answered by Dame Diana Johnson

Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s mission to take back our streets. We are taking a range of steps to realise this ambition.

We have banned Zombie style knives and zombie style machetes.

We have set up a Knife-Enabled Robbery Taskforce, which brings together Ministers, Chief Constables and others working across criminal justice to take immediate action to tackle the fastest rising type of knife crime.

We have formed the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime that brings together campaign groups, families of people who have tragically lost their lives to knife crime, young people who have been impacted and community leaders, united in their mission to save lives and make Britain a safer place for the next generation.

We launched a consultation to help our plans for an effective ban of Ninja Swords.

We have launched a review into the online sale and delivery of knives to identify any gaps in current processes and legislation. We are also consulting on introducing personal liability measures on senior executives of online platforms or marketplaces who fail to take action to remove illegal content relating to weapons.

We will also create a new Young Futures programme - intervening earlier to stop young people being drawn into crime. It is vital we have a system that can identify and support those young people who need it most.

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