What’s up in London? Murder rate surpassed NY

Tackling violence not just law enforcement issue, says document published amid row over leaked report
[...]
The leak threatened to overshadow the broader findings of the strategy, such as the impact of drug markets, social and economic disadvantages and social media, at a time when knife and gun deaths on British streets, particularly in London, have surged. There have been more than 50 suspected murders in the capital this year.

The final 115-page document contains little about the impact of increasing or decreasing police numbers, despite the research seen by the Guardian being clear on its findings and marked “official – sensitive”.
[...]
While a rise in violent crime can partly be attributed to improved police recording, other data sources suggest there has been a genuine rise.

Hospital data, unaffected by the changes to police figures, also shows that certain types of serious violence are genuinely rising and have been since 2014-15; admissions for assault by sharp objects increased by 18%.

In preparation for the launch of the strategy, officials prepared a document in February on the factors behind the rise in violent crime.

Leaked to the Guardian, a section on police resources says: “Since 2012-13, weighted crime demand on the police has risen, largely due to growth in recorded sex offences. At the same time officers’ numbers have fallen by 5% since 2014.

“So resources dedicated to serious violence have come under pressure and charge rates have dropped. This may have encouraged offenders. [It is] unlikely to be the factor that triggered the shift in serious violence, but may be an underlying driver that has allowed the rise to continue.”

A highlighted box emphasises the point: “Not the main driver but has likely contributed.”

The final strategy advocates possible use of “hotspot policing” and other forms of targeted policing where there is proven evidence of effectiveness. This does not mean an increase in numbers, but rather a redistribution of officers, including community support officers, to neighbourhoods identified as being hotspots for crime.

The strategy does not advocate increased use of stop and search. It says research by College of Policing and the Home Office has also shown that changes in the level of stop and search have only minimal effects, at best, on trends in violent crime, even when measured at the local level.

Looking at individual drivers behind violent crime, the strategy states that it shares similar risk factors with other types of crime and anti-social behaviour and will also link with other “poor life outcomes” such as low educational attainment, poor health and unemployment.

“Consequently socioeconomic improvements, strengthening ties to family, school and non-violent norms are key areas for reducing violence,” it said.

A study looking at 80 firearms offenders convicted in England and Wales found most came from disrupted family environments and more than half reported being excluded from school, the report said.

Young people who became involved in gangs were characterised by childhood disadvantage, including family poverty and living in high crime neighbourhoods, it said. Therewas also “strong evidence” that rival gangs were using social media to promote gang culture, taunt each other and incite violence, the document said.

Labour MP Chuka Umunna has crossed party lines to join a government taskforce on tackling violent crime.
[...]
Announcing his decision to accept Ms Rudd’s invitation, that Mr Umunna said: "My community would never forgive me if I allowed tribal, party politics to get in the way of us working together to stop the extreme and serious youth violence that has been blighting our streets for far too long.

“This is why I have not hesitated in accepting the home secretary's invitation to join the government's cross-party Serious Violence Taskforce. We need a more joined up approach across the whole of the public sector and that must include parliament.

He added: “In addition to carrying out my duties as a legislator scrutinising government policy, this provides an excellent opportunity to hold the government to account and to see whether policy is being properly implemented in my community and in others affected by this violence."

Labour MP Chuka Umunna has crossed party lines to join a government taskforce on tackling violent crime.

Lip service.

Other than your glass bowl - what are your credentials on this subject?

Other than your glass bowl - what are your credentials on this subject?

When you start talking about the real cause of the crime let me know.

'The crime' in general or a specific one?

First, the real crime is what the UK's leaders have done to their country.

well-founded answer,

There is, ask the girls who were raped.

coldjoint wrote:

There is, ask the girls who were raped.

Raped when and where?

And with what girls did you speak? (I didn't but I'm friendly with someone working in a sexual assault referral centre.)

I believe he is referring to the New Year Celebrations (we call it rape in America) in the Cologne City Center. You remember those, right?

Ignoring violent migrants, London takes a stab at Granny's knives

In an editorial about the knife ban, The Washington Times pointed out the foreign-born population in the UK has more than doubled from 1993 to 2015, from 3.8 million to 8.7 million. The number of migrants is estimated to be 37 percent of London's population compared to 10 percent across the country.

"Well, that high-migration rate has apparently been having an effect — and it’s called Uptick in Murder," the Times opined in the April 9 editorial.

Great Britain is also besieged by toxic political correctness, which has been directly tied to the Rotherham scandal in which authorities refused to investigate and arrest Pakistani-born Muslims for fear of accusations of racism.

Again, the root cause of these crimes is the last thing anyone wants to admit, let alone discuss.

The number of migrants is estimated to be 37 percent of London's population compared to 10 percent across the country.

In April 2001, 8.3 percent of the country's population were foreign-born.
This was substantially less than that of major immigration countries such as Australia (23 percent), Canada (19.3 percent) and the USA (12.3 percent).

London mayor urged cross-party focus after criticism that police funding cuts have led to surge

Sadiq Khan met politicians including home secretary Amber Rudd as well as Metropolitan police commissioner Cressida Dick on Tuesday for a summit on how to tackle the surge in serious crime.

The London mayor, who has denied that police have “lost control of crime” in the capital, has been under pressure to take public action in the wake of more than 50 murders in the capital this year, many of them stabbings.

He told his audience at the private event, which also included shadow home secretary Diane Abbott and Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable, that while they had differences over police funding, he wanted to concentrate on the issues that they could all address.

The City Hall meeting followed a difficult day for the home secretary as the launch of her serious violence strategy was overshadowed by a report, leaked to the Guardian, that police funding cuts “probably contributed” to the rise in violent crime.

But one attendee said the failure to address police cuts in detail was “the elephant in the room”, with council leaders and MPs standing up in turn to describe how their communities were suffering as a result.

After the event, Rudd said it was “a very useful meeting”, but would not be drawn on whether she accepted any of the concerns about lack of resources, while Khan said the gathering showed the cross-party commitment to tackling the problem.

One guest at the event said: “It felt like a good show of unity, but when it comes to solutions, there are going to be problems. There’s not a lot they really agree on.”

Labour’s Stella Creasy, MP for Walthamstow, said: “They’re not wrong to say it’s not just about police numbers, it’s about what they do next. But everybody knows that resources would help.”

Former Tory cabinet minister Justine Greening, the MP for Putney, said: “What Londoners really want to see is not just some talking but more action. We heard a lot about strategy, but for a lot of us with local communities that are really worried about the upswing in violent crime, I think we want to hear about what’s actually going to change on the ground.”

Khan, who said he would push for “relentless focus” on prevention, has announced a £45m fund for young people at risk of getting caught up in violence and £15m for the police specifically to tackle knife crime.

Hours later, Jeremy Corbyn held his own round table, also attended by the mayor, which party sources said would help recast Labour’s policies to tackle knife crime following the surge in violence. His home affairs team, policy experts, youth workers, police officers and victims discussed measures including evidence-based stop and search and funding to properly embed police in communities.

The panel also talked about the importance of a longer-term, holistic approach to areas like housing and education, as well as supporting grassroots initiatives, to avoid young people getting caught up in crime in the first place. Party sources present at the meeting, which was attended by Corbyn’s policy chief, Andrew Fisher, said some of the initiatives would “feed into” longer-term planning.