It is Time to Get a Grip and Tackle Violent Crime
Rt Hon Greg Hands MP for Chelsea and Fulham reporting back
Greg will continue to monitor local police numbers
Dear Resident,
In the four days that have preceded me sitting down to write this article, the Metropolitan Police have opened six murder investigations. The victim’s ages range from 25 to 87. Given this, it is no wonder that people of all ages across the capital are concerned about their personal safety.
At the time of writing, the Met has now opened 59 murder investigations this year. Many victims have been young people who should have had long lives ahead of them.
Each and every one of these murders is a tragedy. My thoughts are with the families and friends of every victim.
I am sure that regardless of their party, any other politician would agree with me that just one life cut short by violent crime is one too many. Our police chiefs would agree too. We should be able to put aside our differences to tackle violent crime and, in the process, make the communities that we serve safer.
From my inbox and mailbag, communities are tired of politicians trying to score points. They are not looking for excuses as to why crimes are being committed but approaches and solutions to tackle them.
As the former Deputy Mayor of London responsible for Policing, Rt Hon Kit Malthouse MP, suggested last week one of the possible approaches the Met should consider would be a new ‘Operation Blunt 2’ to tackle knife crime.
Operation Blunt 2, run by the Metropolitan Police from 2008 to 2010, involved prioritising police resources to areas under the greatest threat from knife crime, where increased stop and search campaigns were then conducted to seize weapons. The operation resulted in approximately 11,000 weapons being taken off the streets.
I agree with Kit. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, should consider running a similar operation today. The operation contributed to a significant fall in the number of teenage killings when it was run. In 2008, 29 teenagers lost their lives by 2012 this fell to 8. A similar drastic fall today is what we need to get to grip with violent crime.
Why not at the very least consider an approach that was successful before?
As your MP, I am pleased to be able to say that regardless of the approach that the Mayor of London decides upon to tackle violent crime, the Government has committed to providing them with more officers to act.
At the 2019 General Election, the Conservative Party pledged to put 20,000 additional officers on the streets by 2023. Since the election, whilst in government, the Party has overseen the recruitment of over 13,500 extra police officers across England and Wales a significant proportion of which have been in London.
As of 31 July 2022, the Met had 33,792 Police officers. I will continue to monitor this and push for our part of London to receive its fair share of the additional officers during my regular meetings with the police.
You can also do your bit to help tackle crime. The police hold regular meetings and events where you can engage with the police to discuss local concerns and set priorities for the local police team. I would encourage you to attend these meetings, as community engagement is vital to tackling crime. Details about future events can be found here.
Kind regards,
Greg Hands
The Rt Hon Greg Hands MP
Member of Parliament for Chelsea and Fulham
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August 22, 2022