Tough new action to combat knife crime has today been welcomed by Richard Quigley MP, for Isle of Wight West.
The Government’s flagship Crime and Policing Bill fulfils multiple Labour manifesto commitments. During the campaign the Party pledged to ‘get knives off our streets’. The Bill introduced on Wednesday will give the police new powers to seize, retain and destroy knives held in private, applicable when the police believe the knife will be used in a violent crime.
Labour’s bill comes as statistics show that in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, knife crime rose by 33% under the Tories.
It also includes strong new rules to prevent online knife sales, including personal liability for senior managers of online platforms who fail to act on illegal content including knives and offensive weapons.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will also introduce a new offence of possession of an offensive weapon with intent to use unlawful violence. It also increases the maximum penalty for offences relating to the sale of offensive weapons.
The Bill will also strengthen age verification requirements for online sale of bladed products. The law will be named after 16-year old Ronan Kanda, stabbed to death in Wolverhampton by a boy who had used his mother’s ID to purchase a 22-inch sword online.
Making Britain’s streets safe is a major plank of this Labour Government’s Plan for Change, and the Government has pledged to half knife crime in a decade.
Richard Quigley Labour MP for Isle of Wight West, said:
“I fully welcome this decisive action to tackle knife crime and protect communities across the Island. Too many young lives are being lost nationally, leaving families and entire communities absolutely devastated.
“This government has set an ambitious mission to halve knife crime within the next decade — and it’ll explore every possible avenue to protect young lives.
“Labour’s Plan for Change is about making Britain’s streets safe again, and I am fully behind it.”
