Knife Crime on Wheels2 min read

Never in my life did I think I would be afraid of a moped passing by while I wait on a bus stop with my phone out.

Recent weeks have seen a large influx of reported moped crimes carried out by youth offenders in the heart of the capital.

The Metropolitan Police revealed back in September that in a span of 12 months, a total of 19,285 moped crimes were committed in London – that’s an average of 53 incidents a day.

In addition to this, figures from Office of National Statistics reported that the amount of knife crimes has sky-rocketed by 26% in London, with nearly 37,000 blade offenses committed in England and Wales within 12 months leading to the end of June.

Monday night saw the tragic murder of charity worker Abdul Samad in Little Venice after two teenage offenders tried to steal his phone on a moped.

The encounter led to a knife in Samad’s heart shortly by his death confirmed in the early hours of Tuesday morning at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington.

Many are wondering why these horrific crimes are happening and more importantly, what our local authorities are doing to resolve the problem.

The main reason for why there has been in influx in moped affiliated crime is because young offenders are able to steal mopeds with ease, carrying out crimes that include theft, knife crime and even acid attacks.

However, one of the underlying factors for why these types of crime have increased in the last year is due to the budget cuts to policing in London and around the country.

In seven years, the number of police officers running the streets has fallen in England and Wales by less than 20,000 according to the Home Office.

The numbers may not seem a lot in its time span, but the increase in crime in recent years show that it is evident criminals have gained the confidence to go out and carry offenses out on the innocent.

In terms of resolving the matter of moped crimes, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has planned to work with the local authorities to prevent the theft of mopeds by offenders.

The steps will include providing secure parking bays for the mopeds as well as increased surveillance in the localities.

But will these measures be enough for crime prevention around London?

Even if we do secure mopeds from being used as getaway vehicles, knife crime is still on the rise in the UK.

More young people are at risk of getting killed by others in their age group all for the sake of a new phone.