Sarah Coombes MP: Protecting our communities by tackling knife crime in Sandwell
Too many families in my constituency are living with the devastating consequences of knife crime. I’ve met mothers whose sons will never come home again. Young people who are traumatised by the loss of their friends.
In the West Midlands we have one of the highest knife crime rates in the country. Knife crime impacts individuals, families, and leaves communities feeling scared. This is not acceptable, and it is not right that we should live in fear.
Last week I led a debate in Parliament to discuss how we prevent knife crime in the West Midlands. Little did we know that at the same time as MPs of different parties were discussing knife crime a 12-year-old boy had been stabbed in Birmingham. He died of his injuries. This devastating news shows just how urgent the battle against knife crime is.
Tackling this huge problem is not easy – but it’s our responsibility to try. The answer, in my view, lies in more resources for the police, making it harder to get these deadly weapons, and supporting young people from an early age.
After years of cuts our public services are in a state of disrepair. There are 800 fewer police officers in the West Midlands now in 2024 compared to 2012. That’s 800 fewer bobbies on the beat keeping our communities safe and deterring those who want to cause harm.
I am proud that the new government is committing to halving knife crime in a decade and has committed to increasing police and PCSO numbers by 13,000 nationwide. But I know we need to take action sooner rather than later.
To combat knife crime in Sandwell we must take immediate action and more proactive measures.
I want to see tough sentencing for those found guilty of knife crime and more monitored CCTV in areas where we know crime occurs. We also need to crack down on the sale of zombie-knives online. It’s far too easy to buy them right now – as demonstrated by the terrible incident in December of young men running around West Brom town centre wearing balaclavas and wielding machetes in broad daylight.
But perhaps most important of all is work in schools and youth clubs to educate and support young people. Too few teenagers realise that although carrying a knife might make them feel safe, it is actually more likely to lead to them getting seriously hurt or worse.
I’ve only been an MP for six months and I’ve already met so many families torn apart by knife crime. We haven’t got time to lose – we need to turn the tide on this knife crime crisis and keep our children safe.
