Knife crime in London has fallen by 10 per cent in the last 12 months, with hospital admissions for knife assault among young people more than halved since 2018, according to the director of the capital's Violence Reduction Unit (VRU).
Lib Peck, who leads the VRU, said the latest data shows the difference the unit's work is making, with 12,500 fewer victims of violence over seven years and a continuing downward trend in knife crime.
Background to the VRU
In 2018, London faced a crisis in which homicides of young people were front-page news, highlighting the human cost of violence. National cuts to services designed to keep young people safe had contributed to rising crime in London and across the country.
That year, in the face of mounting political pressure, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, set up the VRU at the start of 2019, taking a public health approach to tackling knife crime. The then Government followed the Mayor's lead, establishing 19 other Violence Reduction Units across the country.
Prevention and partnership
The VRU has coordinated work across health, education, community organisations and the police, mainstreaming prevention and working with young people. It has funded youth workers to take young people off the streets and away from gangs, as well as working with young people in police cells or hospital beds to prevent retaliation and reoffending.
By the end of this month, the VRU will have delivered one million targeted interventions and positive opportunities for Londoners, with more than three quarters aimed at young people.
Impact and future
Peck said one violent incident is one too many and there is no room for complacency, but progress is being made. She added that London is demonstrating what is possible when violence is treated as preventable, and there are opportunities for the Government to learn from the approach to prevent young people from falling into violence and the criminal justice system.
