‘Policing is only ever going to be one part of the answer with knife crime.’

Today, we continue our feature on knife crime in the Havering Daily. We have asked the Prospective Parliamentary Candidates for Havering to share their views.

Julia Lopez-Hornchurch and Upminster Conservative candidate writes:

We must never take our eye off the ball when it comes to protecting people from knife crime, particularly our young people when they go out. 

This is something we have been working on for many years in Havering – a community effort between police, schools, residents and office holders, underpinned by the new Serious Violence Duty. 

As Hornchurch & Upminster’s MP, I have led a series of campaigns and worked with others to play my part:

Police officer numbers – more police on the streets means a strong deterrent and better knowledge of likely knife carriers. In 2019, we pledged to increase the numbers of police in Havering’s Borough Command Unit, and that is what we have done. I have helped the local Met’s recruitment efforts by making sure that they have had a stand at every Jobs Fair I have held in the constituency.

Nationally, we fulfilled early our promise to increase police officer numbers by 20 000 but the Labour Mayor of London – who is operationally responsible for the Met – was the only authority in the country to miss the recruitment target. I have consistently pushed him to resource outer London with more officers, as the area is geographically large and the type of crime we are seeing is changing. I would like to see him back his officers in carrying out Stop and Search – something that was very effective in keeping knife crime down when Boris Johnson was Mayor, and this is something that I have spoken to our local officers about recently because they believe it is so effective in protecting people.

Hornchurch Police Station – those extra police need bases, particularly in a big borough like Havering where response times and the policing of our town centres are affected if officers have to travel far to their shifts. I have petitioned the Mayor to keep open Hornchurch Police Station, gathering the support of 1400 residents. We are told by the Met Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, that we will get a decision now ‘in late summer’. 

Tougher laws – I have voted in parliament for tougher laws to give police more powers to seize knives, to search those already convicted of knife or weapons offences and to increase the sentences of those convicted. We have limited access to knives, banning zombie knives and machetes, increasing penalties for those who import, make or advertise them online.

Prevention – Clamping down on lower level crime can prevent escalation into more serious crime. This is why I have backed the Home Office/Met pilot, Clear Hold Build, in Harold Hill which is targeting prolific offenders around Farnham Road who have been making the lives of shop workers and residents miserable. I have worked as an MP to bring retailers, police and community groups together, introducing people to fantastic local charities like the Ricky Hayden Memorial. Those lessons are being applied to other local town centres like Elm Park and Hornchurch.

Policing is only ever going to be one part of the answer. I also work closely with local schools on these issues so that we have a more detailed understanding of the social challenges our young people are dealing with, and have held several community meetings on knife crime, gathering together schools, police and faith leaders. Our Violence Reduction Units, that focus on early intervention and prevention work, are having a real impact in looking at some of the reasons why people are carrying knives and better understanding and dealing with social breakdown and challenges within the family unit.

The Future

The Conservative government has taken a twin track approach that combines tough enforcement like stop and search with programmes to steer potential offenders away from crime. 

We want to build on that by recruiting 8,000 more full-time, fully warranted police officers to ensure a new police officer for every neighbourhood. We also want to cut anti-social behaviour in town centres by rolling out Hotspot Policing and expanding community payback.

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