Knife-Crimes & Police Numbers

[Khandro]

I hold no brief for Theresa May, but is she right in her assertion that there is no direct correlation between knife crimes and police numbers?

"Despite the spate of knife murders in recent days, May took time out on a visit to Salisbury yesterday to rigidly stick to her line that numbers of cops and crime were not linked. “There is no direct correlation between certain crimes and police numbers,” she said. Even the usually sure-footed Home Office minister Victoria Atkins claimed last November that police numbers were unrelated to crime. “In the late 2000s there was a similar spike in violence and there were many, many more police officers on the streets in that day and age,” she said then."

Huffpost

[Ken4155]

No-one is suggesting taking it to absurdity, Khandro. We all realise that more bobbies on the beat won't entirely eradicate the problem but, surely, it would help ease it.

[retrocop]

Spath@1154
That is how it successfully worked. The units were predominantly uniformed with several plain clothes officers. The plain clothes officers would recce alone or in pairs over various parts of the division.If they saw a large gathering of youths congregating on corners or shopping precincts they would call up the uniformed teams who would swoop,having surrounded the area first.

[ummmm]

You say that Retro but not long ago I was burgled. They only took my laptop so I phoned the non emergency number. Police were out pretty quickly and told me I should have dialed 999.

[spathiphyllum]

it depends if it's an emergency Ummm

[spathiphyllum]

Retro then why can we not apply the same technique? At least for a trial

[ummmm]

Spath...I didn't see it as an emergency but was told by the police to phone 999 if it ever happened again.

[Canary42]

The alternative view (and probably the right one).

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47452799

[youngmafbog]

What the heck does Dick know, I expect she struggles with the day of the week. Another waste of space.

Police numbers have nothing to do with the increase in knife crime. It is down to culture and lack of decent sentencing together with removal of stop and search.

Pointless putting more coppers on the street if they have to patrol leafy suburbs and stop and search old ladies to stop the likes of Khant bleating about Police racism.

[dannyk13]

Retro, The Met has always had different methods of working and it's own powers of stop and search which did not apply to other forces, especially in the 50's.

[agchristie]

//“In the late 2000s there was a similar spike in violence and there were many, many more police officers on the streets in that day and age//

Yes and not all knife crime occurs 'on the streets'.

It happens inside buildings,parks,playgrounds or indeed many areas that are not patrolled as a rule....

[Ellipsis]

I think somebody put it thus on the radio this morning - if there's no relationship between the number of police and the amount of crime, why don't we just get rid of all the police?

[aelmpvw]

i doubt if the majority of morons who go out armed with a knife consider the depth of police presence so i don't know what the short term answer is

[dannyk13]

The answer lies in making these youths think twice before they go about carrying knives i.e punitive prison sentences.I would suggest 5 years for being unlawfully being n possession of a knife, and ten years for being in possession of a knife whilst committing a crime.

[youngmafbog]

"if there's no relationship between the number of police and the amount of crime, why don't we just get rid of all the police?"

Well that is the biggest load of nonsense I have ever seen. Suggest you change your radio station if that is the calibre of 'listener'

[youngmafbog]

And fetch the rope for going out with a knife and killing with it Danny.

And no reduction in sentences.

[dannyk13]

ymb, agreed, but, unfortunately, capital punishment will never return.

[retrocop]

Danny
It would appear The Town Police Clauses Act was not as effective as Sec66 MP ACT or may be how it was applied.

[dannyk13]

Retro, which section of the Town Police Clauses Act are you referring to?

[retrocop]

I am afraid you will have to help me there. We never used that Act for anything in the Met. Sec 66 and Firearms Act plus Criminal Law Act were our search powers as far as I remember. I was told by a long time friend a few years back who was serving in Thames Valley Police Force at that time that Town Police Clauses was their Stop/Search power. Thames Valley Police attended the same college as many other County Forces for initial training so I assumed Yorkshire did also. Our Training School was Hendon, as you know, and the only non Met Police Forces that attended Hendon were London Transport( Now BTP) and Royal Parks Constabulary.

[dannyk13]

Retro, Stop and search for forces other than the Met did not come into power until 1984.As far as I am aware there is nothing in the Town Police Clauses Act that allows stop and search.