Tough new action to combat knife crime has been hailed by Dame Nia Griffith, Labour MP for Llanelli as “an important step forward” to reverse the increase in knife crime related incidents that has been seen across the UK, including in Dyfed Powys where it has gone up by a whopping 243% since 2015.
The UK Government’s flagship Crime and Policing Bill delivers on multiple Labour manifesto commitments as part of its pledge to ‘get knives off our streets’. The Bill, currently making its way through Parliament, will give the police new powers to seize, retain and destroy knives held in private, applicable when the police believe the knife will be used in a violent crime.
Labour’s Bill comes as statistics show that in the Dyfed Powys Police Force Area, knife crime rose by 243% under the Tories with 196 incidents recorded in the year ending September 2024.
It also includes strong new rules to prevent online knife sales, including personal liability for senior managers of online platforms who fail to act on illegal content including knives and offensive weapons.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will also introduce a new offence of possession of an offensive weapon with intent to use unlawful violence. It also increases the maximum penalty for offences relating to the sale of offensive weapons.
The Bill will also strengthen age verification requirements for online sale of bladed products. The law will be named after 16-year old Ronan Kanda, stabbed to death in Wolverhampton by a boy who had used his mother’s ID to purchase a 22-inch sword online.
Making Britain’s streets safe is a major plank of this Labour Government’s Plan for Change, and the Labour UK Government has pledged to half knife crime in a decade.
Dame Nia Griffith, Labour MP for Llanelli, said:
“This legislation to crack down on knife crime and protect local communities is an important step forward. Far too many young lives are being lost to violence, with families and communities left devastated as a result. The worrying increase in knife crime since 2015 needs to be properly tackled as a matter of urgency.
“This Labour UK Government has set an ambitious mission for the country to halve knife crime over the next decade. Stronger laws and proper enforcement is the start and we must continue to pursue every possible avenue that we can to save young lives.”