‘Strip searches are a necessity-children fear if they are going to return home.’

A mother from east London who lost her son to knife crime has told the Havering Daily that strip searches for children are sadly a necessity for our community at the moment.

The mother who is going to court soon following her son’s horrific murder has stated that due to the way our society is and the endless knife crime murders on our streets, strip searches for children are needed.

The mother who we are not naming due to the court case taking place shortly, lost her son last year to knife crime at the age of just 18 years old-her only son. His murderer is believed to be a 15 year old boy who went out on the streets of east London armed with a knife.

She told the Havering Daily: “It is a necessary measure for our community. I know it is not popular but that is how our community is and our children are dying on the street. Just last week we saw another 15 year old boy losing his life to knife crime and his killers are also believed to be 15 years old. These are children killing each other.

“I know they are not popular but they are a necessity and people need to be looking at why our children are going out with knives.

“I am a Hijabi wearing Muslim, I know that when I go to the airport I will face extra checks because of how I am dressed. I may not like these procedures, but I understand why they are in place right now.

“Strip searches are not what we want on our streets for children but sadly it is a requirement for our community.”

This mother’s world, like most other parents out there who have lost a child to knife crime, has fallen apart. She is broken in every possible way and now has to sit through a traumatising court case where she will have to face her son’s killers and hear the horrific details of how his life was taken from him.

Parents who lose children to knife crime, never recover. The trauma lives with them for the rest of their life, making everyday a challenge. Yet they fight on and rebuild their life the best way they can.

Strip searches are extremely impacting for children, but we must also remember that it is children killing each other on our streets right now and until society chooses to address these issues, then sadly they are needed.

“Children are afraid to go out on our streets, that is the reality of it. They don’t know if they will return home at night,” added the heartbroken mother.

Sadly, her son did not make it and neither do many others whose lives are brutally cut short due to knife crime.

We must deal with these horrors now and stop pouring the fault on police officers daily. It is a huge issue that needs to be addressed by all members of the community and urgently needs to be tackled. It is not an issue just for the police-ultimately they are always first on the scene and do everything they can to save lives. However the key point is just why a child is leaving their home with a knife.

Society is rapidly decaying in all ways. Our national health system is on the verge of breaking, our police force is trying to do its best despite years of cuts and under funding that have left it on its knees and our schools have more and more pressures and less and less funding. Our mental health system is just as underfunded and critically short staffed. Children can see parents struggle to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads. And the lure of money comes knocking on the door in the form of county lines and drugs.

It is a nightmare for teenagers now and until all these issues are addressed nothing will change and things will continue to decay.