By Bobby Dean, Liberal Democrat MP for Carshalton & Wallington
Wrythe Green is a pleasant communal space. It’s been chunked up into pieces by the road network over time but is surrounded by a series of thriving independent shops and is well looked after by a voluntary group. It serves the sprawling residential area to the north of Carshalton High Street – relatively quiet by London standards, but not sleepy like a village.
So, you can imagine the shock of the community when, one Thursday afternoon, two men with balaclavas were seen approaching another young man. A fight broke out, a knife was used and shortly after the victim was rushed to hospital.
We know the details of what happened because, within minutes, a grisly video of the attack circulated around local social media networks. All I could think about was the victim’s family and the young minds that might be scarred by what they see. Surely the platforms’ moderators have a responsibility here?
The incident happened just around the corner from my office and just a few minutes’ walk from my home. As a resident, I was just as shocked as others that this could happen on our doorstep. But as the local MP, I felt a responsibility to act. In the moment, I thought the most responsible thing to do was to simply report the facts. But I knew I had more to say.
Knife crime is something that I have worked on for a number of years. I have worked with leading campaigners and scrutinised the work of the London Mayor’s Violence Reduction Unit. I understand the pain and anger that comes with this particularly violent form of crime and the complexity in tackling it.
Tough sentencing, weapon bans and greater police presence are all part of the solution. These are the right responses from those who care and want immediate action. But enforcement alone will never be enough. Many of the young people I’ve encountered in this world are not thinking about the prospect of getting caught. Knife availability will never be nil. If police patrolled all day, there will still be opportunities to act violently.
We must look hard at the reasons why young people are drawn into a world where it’s even a consideration to carry a knife. That means looking at many failures, including the cuts to youth services, family breakdown, a lack of opportunity and the drug-fuelled dominance of gangs.
Some people have described this sort of action as being soft on crime – thinking too much about the perpetrators and not enough about the victims. But I reject that idea entirely. The truly tough thing to do is to go against the popular siren call of simple solutions and take on the complexity. The best way to reduce the number of victims is to reduce the number of perpetrators and early intervention and prevention is the answer.
Locally, I have spoken to the police and I know they are doing everything they can to investigate and reassure the public. There are more patrols, weapons searches and forensic evidence being gathered.
But public trust in the police has been collapsing in recent years. Many people no longer believe the police can keep them safe, and victims of crime often refuse to cooperate because they don’t trust the system to protect them. It is a self-reinforcing dynamic. It makes it harder to bring offenders to justice and it leaves communities and victims feeling vulnerable.
I know that the Met Police are working hard on a turnaround plan to restore trust. Crucial to this must be a return to proper community policing, where officers know the people they serve and build trust over time. Only then can we do the sort of early intervention work that prevents knife carrying in the first place
Alongside others, I will continue to do all I can to ensure that residents feel safe in our area and that nobody has to live in fear of being attacked. I have written to Ministers in the Home Office and will continue to use my voice in Parliament to get the change across society that we need.
The incident in Wrythe Green is just one example of the devastating impact of knife crime. It affects me particularly because it is my community and my home. But I’m determined to work with others to bring an end to this awful crime across our capital.