UK records new highs in knife crime deaths among youth: Report
The United Kingdom is suffering one of the worst knife crime epidemics in recent years with record numbers of fatalities being recorded among the youth in 2018 alone.
Results of a study conducted by the Guardian newspaper published on Thursday showed the last few years in particular have seen a surge in deaths related to knife crime among teenagers or children, adding that this year has been one of the worst with 37 fatalities recorded so far in England and Wales.
The report said one of the worst years on record was 2007 in which 48 children under the age of 19 were stabbed to death in the two UK provinces.
While campaigners have continually highlighted the growing problem of knife crime, concerns have now grown over government cuts to vital police services which many say have contributed to the surge.
The West Midlands region which includes areas such as Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Walsall have recorded some of the highest youth rates of knife crime violence in almost 40 years with a general increase of 18% in 2018 compared with the previous year.
With cuts to public services like police and community officers set to worsen after Brexit, concerns that the problem will continue to spiral out of control are held throughout the communities most affected.
The data compiled by the Guardian indicated that some 1063 children and teenagers have been killed as a result of knife crime in England and Wales since 1977.
Notable opposition figures reacted to Guardian’s study, with Sarah Jones, the Labour MP and chair of the parliamentary group on knife crime saying it was a shame that teenagers and children continued to die on the streets across the UK because of violence.
“While parliamentary farce and stalemate continues, the reality for our country is regression. The most visceral symptom is the continuing epidemic of knife violence,” said Jones, adding, “Across the country children are arming themselves and dying on our streets. What bigger symbol could there be of a generation abandoned and all aspiration lost?”
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