Violent Crime: Young People

Florence Eshalomi, the Labour/Co-op MP for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green, asked the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, what steps the Department is taking to help prevent young people from becoming involved in violent crime. In her response, the Home Secretary acknowledged that knife crime takes far too many young lives in the country, and stated that the Government has set a mission to halve knife crime over the next decade. She mentioned that the Government has already implemented a ban on zombie knives and zombie-style machetes, and will now act quickly to ban ninja swords following a campaign by Pooja Kanda after the death of her son. Eshalomi welcomed the Government's commitment in the Young Futures programme to preventing young people from being drawn into crime, and highlighted that a number of gang-associated girls are drawn into crime, often through rape and sexual exploitation, but many do not see themselves as victims. She asked if the Department would consider providing tailored support for young women through the Young Futures programme. The Home Secretary acknowledged Eshalomi's important point, and stated that the Young Futures programme will include youth hubs to draw together services around young people, as well as youth prevention programmes across all areas. She agreed that this must be about young girls as well as young boys to ensure that the threats to young people's safety from violent crime are tackled. Mims Davies, the Conservative MP for East Grinstead and Uckfield, emphasized the importance of helping young people to stay safe, have somewhere to go, and someone to talk to, to prevent them from being drawn into antisocial behaviour, retail crime, and knife or gang-related crime. She asked the Home Secretary to confirm that, through devolution, there will be continued support for police and crime commissioners, such as Katie Bourne in Sussex, who can provide a direct link between residents' concerns about their young people and work with local police to take preventive measures. The Home Secretary agreed that police and crime commissioners have a crucial role to play as part of the mission to reduce serious violence, as do local authorities. She acknowledged that many of these services have been hollowed out over a long period, and it is important that there is partnership working to rebuild them, not just with police and crime commissioners but with MPs across the country.