Knife Crime on Rise in the Capital2 min read

The lives of young men in London are being stolen due to the sharp rise in knife crime and the gangs responsible are not being caught and bought to justice. Instead they are still roaming around the streets of London carrying knives, machetes and feeling like they can do whatever they want without any repercussions.

It does not help that Theresa May has made police cuts back in June 2017, making it harder to catch the culprits and prevent anymore fatal stabbings. More policing and harsher punishments need to be in effect.

20 teenagers were fatally stabbed in London over 2017, the highest number since 2008. In 2018 there have been 15 fatal knife attacks between January and February.

Already the number of stabbings this year alone will exceed the previous and many of us are outraged, saddened and overall worried about the next generation.

On the evening of February 20th, there were reports of multiple stabbings across Camden, six to be exact, two of which were fatal and are currently being looked in to by the murder detectives. They are in the early stages of the investigation but are treating the two killings as linked, both victims have had family members in the past also murdered by stabbing.

Many of the recent deaths have been in Camden or the surrounding area, a course of action in the borough has been permitted for more Police to patrol in the area and stop and search anybody without need for “reasonable grounds” of suspicion, this is known as Section 60. It means anyone in the area can be detained and frisked.

Why has it taken 7 lives to be lost for the authorities to put in place this course of action? The younger generation are living in fear for their lives, worried to go outside from their own homes to their jobs or college. Because one day, these gangs could approach them and decide today it’s them they will stab.

There is a terrible epidemic of knife culture amongst the teenagers living in London today. Thinking it is easier to steal the life of somebody else, there is also this peer pressure mind-set of “it’s either kill or be killed.” It is incomprehensible how anyone can think it is “fun”, good for their “reputation” or “convenient” to take someone else’s life.

The victims are usually innocent, up and coming young men who are doing well in their life, the motive is thought to be out of jealousy, peer pressure or just total boredom. Knife crime is on the rise again, it is time to take a call of action and it should not take anymore deaths for the Police and the Government authorities to take action.