The knife crime blindspot
Over the past week London has seen a dramatic spike in the number of murders resulting from victims being stabbed but this is part of a broader rise in knife crime across the capital.
The deaths of young boys such as 15-year-old Jay Hughes and 17-year-old Malcolm Mide-Madariola have forced this issue into the national news and finally politicians on both the left and the right are being forced to answer difficult questions.
The bad news is that they don't have a good answer.
London mayor Sadiq Khan has said that it may take ten years before we see the benefits of his plan. How can he sit in front of a camera and offer this response when these tragedies are taking place today on streets that he is responsible for and accountable to?
Meanwhile Home Office Minister Victoria Atkins suggests that the rise in knife crime has nothing to do with the number of police officers on the streets. Her Conservative party have traditionally been seen as tough on crime but this weak attempt to defend a government programme that deliberately undermines the police has surely not gone unnoticed.
The idea that this is all to do with social media and therefore officers themselves should become keyboard warriors is absurd and doesn't change the fact that if the police are going to make a difference then they need to be out on the street working with and amongst local communities.
In the meantime this week's podcast also examines the employment rights of police and places this within the context of last week's budget speech:
Episode link: http://uklawweekly.com/2018-uksc-40/
Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/uk-law-weekly/id1137316725?mt=2