West Mids Police Meeting With Home Secretary Over Knife Crime

6 March 2019, 09:25

Home Secretary and Bromsgrove MP Sajid Javid will meet police chiefs amid claims of a national knife crime emergency.

A string of fatal teen stabbings have sparked a heated debate over police officer numbers in England and Wales, which have dropped by more than 20,000 since 2009.

Senior officers from seven of the forces most affected by violent crime - the Metropolitan Police, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, West Midlands, South Wales, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire - will attend Wednesday's meeting.

The most recent deaths have seen 17-year-olds Jodie Chesney, who was a scout, and Yousef Ghaleb Makki die at the hands of knife attackers.

In Birmingham three teenagers - two aged 16 and one 18 - died in the space of 12 days last month.

Alison Cope, whose son Joshua Ribera was stabbed to death in Selly Oak in 2013 has spoken to Capital Reports about the work she does with young people in the city around knife crime.

#LISTEN @ali_Cope speaks to #CapitalReports about #KnifeCrime and her work with teenagers in schools. Her son, Joshua Ribera, who was a #Birmingham rapper, was stabbed to death in #SellyOak in 2013. pic.twitter.com/8coJzXxXfg

— Capital Brum News (@CapitalBIRNews) March 6, 2019

Theresa May has ordered an urgent set of ministerial meetings to address action against knife crime, amid controversy over her claim that there was no direct link with cuts in police numbers.

Britain's most senior police officer, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, clashed with the Prime Minister on the issue on Tuesday, insisting there is "obviously" a connection between reductions in officer numbers and street violence.