Police data has revealed that Southwark is the fourth worst borough for knife crime in London. How bad has it got, what are the causes, and who has the solutions?
Between November 2020 and December 2023, the borough saw 2,015 knife-related offences, surpassed by Westminster in first place, then Haringey and neighbouring Lambeth.
Mayor Sadiq Khan has painted a rosier picture of the situation, arguing that violent crime in London has fallen under his premiership.
But police data for Southwark appears to contradict this, suggesting the situation is spiralling once again.
The State of Play
London’s mayoral elections are coming this May and crime will be an important issue for voters.
London’s mayoral elections are coming this May and crime will be an important issue for voters.
Susan Hall, the Conservative’s choice to rival Khan, pitched for the candidacy under the slogan “Safer with Susan”, making crime, along with the environment, key electoral issues.
The pair clashed over the issue during Mayor’s Question Time last July when Hall brandished police statistics showing crime had increased over the last twelve months.
But Khan has pointed to City Hall data showing some violent offences are down since his mayoralty began in May 2016.
Knife crimes with injury for the under 25s have fallen by 18 per cent since then as has gun crime (-19 per cent), homicide (-7 per cent) and burglary (-18 per cent).
The latest ONS stats show that there were 27.9 recorded violence against the person offences per 1,000 population in the Met area, in the twelve months to September 2023.
That’s lower than the average for the rest of England and Wales of 35.4 per 1,000 population and lower than the police force areas of Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and the West Midlands (49.7).
But these statistics only tell part of the story, particularly in Southwark, where knife crime is on the rise.
The borough saw 736 knife crime incidents, an average of two per day, in 2023.
December 2023, a month when Southwark saw 85 knife crime offences, was the worst of the last four years.
That makes 2023 the worst year since 2019, when there were 763 knife-related crimes.
This worrying recent trend is happening across London. Accounting for all 32 London boroughs, 2023 was London’s worst year for knife crime since 2019.
Mayor Khan has laid the blame at the government’s door, placing crime in the context of “devastating police cuts”.
According to City Hall, a decade of government reductions in police spending has forced the Met to make £850 million in savings since 2010.
This has contributed to a reduction in safer neighbourhood police officers – down from 6,459 in 2015 to 2,310 in 2022.
To counter this trend, the Conservative government has proposed a funding package worth £18.4 billion for 2024/2025 – a 30.7 per cent rise in cash terms compared to 2019 and 2020.
Meanwhile, the Met’s ‘A New Met for London’ three-year plan states there will be 500 more PSCOs in London by the end of this year.
At the end of last year, Southwark had roughly 25 PCSOs on the street, a figure set to rise to 69 by 2025.
Southwark Council has also highlighted falling police numbers, with Council Leader Kieron Williams saying the force had been “decimated” since the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition won the 2010 election.
However, responding to the shocking knife crime figures for Southwark, council figures said its causes were “complex” and “systemic”.
Destiny, one of Southwark’s Young Advisors, a group of young people who work with police and the council, said a lack of youth support was a cause.
“Knife crime is due to various factors. Some of them being the lack of youth support in certain areas and the lack of access to counselling and mentorship. Even the cost of living,” he said.
“Young people are scared to go to certain areas as they are not seen as safe. Media, including social media and newspapers, create fear as a lot of negatives are portrayed. Young people already feel labelled and unsafe due to how they are stereotyped.”
Cllr Natasha Ennin, cabinet member for community safety, suggested the criminalisation of young people involved in crime was a problem.
She said: “We have a duty to protect and help children when they find themselves in dangerous and vulnerable situations through no fault of their own.
“This means a truly holistic approach that centres the young person – who are always victims, whether they suffer violence or are forced to enact violence – with a wide range of services interconnected with the community.”
County lines operations, where young people are sent around the country to sell drugs, can sometimes see vulnerable people convicted of crimes many say they are coerced into committing.
In 2022, it was revealed that Southwark had the fifth-highest number of people involved in the out-of-London drugs trade, after Croydon, Lambeth, Newham and Brent.
Analysis by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) thinktank recently found that British boys aged under 18 were most likely to be victims of modern slavery.
However, there is a caveat. Knife crime is on the rise but that includes all manner of offences relating to knives.
The statistics for knife crimes resulting in injuries have remained fairly static since 2019, wavering at between six to seven incidents per month on average in Southwark.
So while knife crime is going up overall, the volume of the most serious incidents has remained roughly the same over the last four years.
What’s the solution?
The Met Police has said tackling knife crime requires a mix of practical on-the-beat policing and community initiatives.
It said weapon sweeps in crime hotspots were useful and the Met has even made ‘knife wand’ metal detectors available to schools.
But a Met Police spokesperson also said tackling knife crime relied on the “combined work from across communities and other agencies”.
“This is why we continue to work with our partners and the community to build lasting solutions,” a spokesperson said.
Southwark Council has implemented a huge number of schemes to address youth violence.
Its Youth Justice Service, which works with vulnerable young people to prevent offending, has been deemed ‘good’ overall and ‘outstanding’ in six areas by the HM Inspectorate of Probation.
There is also The Southwark Youth Independent Advisory Group (YIAG), Southwark’s pledge not to exclude pupils from schools and The Nest, a mental health support hub for young people.
Mayor Khan has presented funding as key to the Met’s success, most of which comes from central government.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has himself warned that without an extra £140m it would be harder for the police to reform following the Casey Review.
On February 14, Khan announced an additional £151 million investment in the Met to “keep Londoners safe”.
Mr Khan said the Met was increasingly relying on City Hall funding, rather than from central government.
Since he became mayor in 2016, City Hall funding now accounts for 27 per cent of the Met’s total expenditure.