| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Arise Sir Sadiq! | |
| Posted by: | Jeremy Parkinson | |
| Date/Time: | 02/01/25 11:12:00 |
| Perhaps those upset about the knighthood for Sir Sadiq would be less so if they took a more detailed look at the numbers. While those claiming that London has become a crime-ridden hellhole during his three terms as Mayor clearly don't live in London, there is no denying that knife crime has risen significantly. Depending on the base year you use, you can get a number between 20-50% This is obviously not good but you need to remember that the Met is primarily funded by the Home Office and there has been a rise in knife crime nationally as police numbers overall have been reduced. The Met has some unique problems in that although the last government tried to keep its funding growing in real terms, it did not match the real term growth allowing for population so there has effectively been a quite significant cut in the police per person ratio in London. That is not even allowing for the recruitment shortfall which is far more acute in London than anywhere else. In these circumstances it would not be surprising if London had seen the biggest increase in knife crime across the nation but the rise is at the lower end or in the middle (depending on which figures you use) compared with the rest of the country. At the same time gun crime has fallen to historic lows in London and is now, for the first time, below other urban areas in the country. As mentioned, the Mayor is not the main funder of policing in London but he has attempted to top up Home Office grants with money raised through the precept. Many of the same people criticising him for the rise in knife crime are also slamming him for tax increases but I've yet to see a credible explanation of how you can significantly reduce offences without providing the Met with adequate funding. The Mayor has also supported a wide range of initiatives across London to reduce youth crime with a particular focus on knives. Nobody should believe these will fix the problem but there are many examples of individual success stories. Looking at the picture more broadly, Sadiq Khan has presided over a rise in knife crime which is much less than might have been expected given national trends and the funding he has been given. There seems no valid argument for opposing his knighthood on the grounds of increased knife crime. Andy Street, who most would agree deserved his honour, saw a much bigger increase in offences involving possession of a weapon, than the national average. |