Before I call Sarah Coombes to move the motion, I ought to explain that this is my first time chairing a debate in Westminster Hall, so I expect you to be very gentle with me. If you are not—well, I am in the Chair.
That this House has considered the prevention of knife crime in the West Midlands.
It is a pleasure to serve under your first chairmanship, Sir John. I want to open this debate by talking about a knock on a mother’s door—the kind of knock that too many parents have experienced and too many more dread. Last week, a woman from my area told me her story. She had already heard through friends that something had happened that night. Her sister was out searching the local hospitals. She had rung the police and been told someone would be there soon. Then she heard a knock on the front door. She said:
“What happened to my son was what I was always worried about. He was the kind of person who always protected his friends. That’s what happened—he stepped in front of his friend to protect him and he was stabbed.”
The loss of a child in this way feels too enormous to comprehend. She explained to me the ways it had affected not just her life but those of her other children:
“My daughter is so angry, but she won’t talk about what happened. She feels there is no justice for her brother. She’s only in primary school but she’s self-harming.”
We are here for this debate because we have got to stop this happening—families being shattered and communities destroyed by knives. It is my duty, as the MP for West Bromwich, to do everything I can to work with the police, schools, constituents and my community to stop this nightmare happening in the first place. In the west midlands, we have the highest rate of knife crime per capita of any region in England. But I do not want to talk about stats today. I want to talk about the stories of the victims, of those who live in fear, and even of those who have committed these terrible crimes. This debate is focused on prevention, so I will talk about the role that policing has to play in that, as well as intervention by schools, communities and families to keep young people safe.
Last year, I went to a football tournament in memory of one of the young players, who was stabbed to death. I spoke to some of the teenagers there and was truly shocked by what I heard. They were angry and distrusted the police, but they still felt there should be more of them around. They felt trapped in places where crime was all around them. They felt they had no opportunities for a different and better life. One teenage boy said to me—I will never forget this—that he did not think he would live to the age of 22.
This past week I got in touch again with the coach and asked for the young people’s thoughts on what the Government need to do to tackle knife crime. Here is some of what they said:
“The gang violence and knife crime is getting worse in my area. We need more youth centres and funding to help stop this.”
It is a pleasure to serve under you, Sir John, during your first chairmanship in Westminster Hall. I am grateful to the hon. Member for West Bromwich (Sarah Coombes) for securing this important debate and for providing many of us from across the west midlands with the opportunity to contribute. The tragic and devastating effects of knife crime have been a central concern for communities across the west midlands and in the Walsall borough, particularly for those of us who represent constituencies that have been impacted by such violent acts.
Knife crime is a problem that cannot be ignored. It requires the attention and action of all of us in this House and beyond. In December 2023, I secured a debate on knife crime in the west midlands and highlighted the shockingly high rates of violent incidents in our communities. Sadly, as we enter 2025, the statistics remain deeply troubling. In the 12 months to March 2024 alone, West Midlands police recorded 7,000 knife-related offences, which is sadly a 70% increase from 2016. But these are not just numbers: families, friends, loved ones and entire communities are affected.
We must, as a nation, reflect on the devastating toll that these crimes take on real lives, because behind each statistic lies a story of personal loss and grief, of families torn apart, and of communities shaken to the core. In my constituency of Aldridge-Brownhills, we are reminded of the heart-wrenching consequences of knife crime through the loss of James Brindley, who tragically lost his life in 2017. James was just 26 years old when he was fatally stabbed by a 17-year-old as he walked home from a night out.
James’s death sparked an outpouring of grief in the community and led his parents Mark and Beverley to found the James Brindley Foundation, a charity committed to reducing youth violence and promoting positive change in our community. The foundation’s work, particularly its #LifeOrKnife campaign and its commitment to providing knife amnesty bins across the Walsall borough, plays a vital role in providing young people with the tools and support they need to make better choices. The installation of the bins, coupled with education and mentoring, which is also crucial, and partnerships with local businesses, is an inspiring example of grassroots action to tackle knife crime.
I can see that a lot of people want to contribute on this important subject. Before I call the next speaker, I therefore suggest that you restrict yourselves to speeches of about five minutes. We will then get everyone in and have plenty of time for the spokesmen to speak and for the mover of the motion to say a few words at the end.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir John. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich (Sarah Coombes) for securing this timely and important debate and highlighting the real-life impacts of knife crime in her constituency. Knife crime is a public health crisis. I speak as an ex-cabinet member for public health and an ex-children’s services manager when I say that it is essential that we tackle both the causes and effects of knife crime.
In July, the Office for National Statistics found that knife crime in England and Wales had risen by 78% over the past 10 years. That is a staggering increase and sets out the scale of the challenge facing the new Government in reversing that terrifying trend within a decade.
I am sad to say that the West Midlands police force area is responsible for 10% of knife-enabled crime in the whole of England and Wales; only the Met police have more cases. However, the statistics alone never tell the real story and, as the MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, I have been witness to some horrific cases in recent years. Jordan Moazami, who was 18 years old and described as a “role model” by his peers, was stabbed and killed on Tennal Road in my constituency in 2019. Muhammad Hassam Ali, 17 years old, was followed and killed by a 15-year-old after a four-minute conversation in Birmingham city centre. And in 2021, Dea-John Reid, my constituent, 14 years old, was hounded by a gang of five boys and grown men before being stabbed in the chest and dying.
I cannot do justice in words to the horror of those cases. In every one, what struck me immediately was the senselessness of it. And in many ways that is where we need to start when thinking about finding meaningful solutions to the epidemic of young boys taking each other’s lives. Prevention has to be our watchword.
Understanding the root causes of knife crime is complicated. It is often a picture of poverty, drugs, gangs, exploitation, school exclusion, domestic violence, adverse childhood experiences and being in care. One of the two 12-year-old boys who killed Sean Seesahai in Wolverhampton in 2023 had experienced significant trauma in his life and been at risk of child criminal exploitation. According to the defence, he had been groomed, exploited and trafficked by men in the community, so there is a complicated story to tell there.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir John. I thank the hon. Member for West Bromwich (Sarah Coombes) for securing this important debate. Knife crime continues to be a devastating issue across the UK, and the west midlands is no exception. The number of recorded offences—over 3,600 last year, a 6% increase on the previous year—underscores the urgent need for more robust preventive measures. As hon. Members have observed, a return to proper community policing will contribute to making our communities safer.
The tragic murder of my constituent Cody Fisher, a young and promising footballer and PE teacher, in a Birmingham nightclub in December 2022 highlights the devastating impact of these issues on families, friends and the wider community. Cody was fatally stabbed with a smuggled zombie knife, exposing serious failings in venue security. His mother, Tracey, has shown incredible courage in campaigning for Cody’s law, which would mandate bleed control kits and metal detectors in late-night venues—practical, cost-effective measures that would save lives.
Tackling knife crime requires more than reactive measures; we must address its root causes by prioritising investment in youth services, which have been cut to the bone, education in schools, and community-led programmes that offer young people opportunities and alternatives. We also need to tackle the online advertisement and sale of knives to our young people. Cody’s law is an essential step towards reducing knife crime in licensed venues and must be part of a broader strategy to protect young lives and create safer communities. I urge the Minister to adopt the proposal and ensure that no more families endure the senseless loss that Cody’s family suffered.
Order. Because of the character of the debate, I will prioritise Members from the west midlands. I hope hon. Members from other places will understand that. I think it is reasonable and fair.
It is a pleasure to serve under your premier chairmanship, Sir John. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich (Sarah Coombes) for calling this important debate and for her passionate speech. It is fantastic to hear from both the victims and the perpetrators of these crimes.
As the MP for Halesowen, I am all too aware of the scourge of knife crime across our region. Many people from my constituency still remember the tragic death of Ryan Passey, a promising young footballer from Quarry Bank who was stabbed to death in a nightclub in 2017. Ryan was killed as his assailants were able to carry a knife into the venue without being stopped and with no fear of being caught. It is shocking that no one has been found guilty of his murder. His family are still fighting for justice more than seven years after he was killed.
Since Ryan’s tragic death, knife crime has continued to blight our community. In August last year, three youths attacked and slashed a man on Silverthorne lane in Cradley Heath. In September, students at Leasowes high school were placed under lockdown for their safety after masked youths were seen hanging around outside the school with machetes. The number of young men and boys carrying and using knives with impunity across our communities is deeply worrying. Residents are scared, with many telling me that they no longer feel safe leaving their homes alone. That is unacceptable. People deserve to feel safe in their communities, and students should not have their learning disrupted by threats of violence.
The figures on knife crime in our region are terrifying. Research by the Office for National Statistics shows that the west midlands has the highest rate of knife crime of any region in the country, with more than 5,000 offences reported last year. The rate of knife crime in our region has increased year on year since 2015, and it is now higher than London’s. Worryingly, that seems to be driven by a big increase in children and young people carrying knives. Last year, over 3,200 young people aged 10 to 17 were charged with knife offences, up 20% on a decade ago. As MPs for the west midlands, we should be deeply concerned about those statistics.
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“Could we do more to stop youths from buying knives on the internet?”
“Why aren’t there more police patrolling the town centres that are known for knife crime or gang violence? Our local area is getting worse and no one seems to care enough to do anything to help it.”
“Education around knife crime should happen at a much younger age. A majority of young people don’t take it seriously because it has not happened to someone close to them, so maybe education needs to be by someone who has really suffered as a consequence of knife crime.”
The mother I mentioned earlier felt similarly:
“There is no support, no prevention—not enough youth clubs…It’s too easy to access these weapons. You can go and buy them online with no proof of ID. There’s nothing for young people to do now. My youth club provided experiences—things like white-water rafting. Now the youth clubs are all gone, social media has come in and crime is through the roof.”
After years of cuts to policing and youth services, it is no surprise that we have not been able to turn the tide on knife crime. Our new Labour Government have shown important ambition in committing to halving knife crime in a decade. I would appreciate the Minister going into detail about how we plan to achieve that. The young people I mentioned identified some themes that get to the heart of the matter: visible policing as a deterrent, reducing access to knives, and early intervention and education. How are young people being involved in policy design to ensure that the action the Government take is effective?
The police service in the west midlands was slashed in the austerity years. We still have 800 fewer police officers and 500 fewer police community support officers than we had in 2010. The knock-on effect of that is obvious. It is not just seeing police walking around our town centres and crime hotspots that keeps us safe, but police and PCSOs having the time and space to build key community relationships and gain the trust and vital intelligence that can stop crime. One of our most important pledges during the election was to restore neighbourhood policing, and I look forward to us having 13,000 extra officers and PCSOs across the country. As well as wanting to see police on our streets, people often raise with me the need for strong sentences to deter people from carrying a knife. Fundamentally, we have to reduce access to these legal weapons.
On the rates of knife crime per capita, West Brom has the highest rate for possession of weapons in Sandwell. We had a dreadful incident before Christmas when young people were running round West Bromwich in broad daylight wearing balaclavas and wielding machetes. That was terrifying for the people who were there and has a huge knock-on effect on local businesses and the entire area. West Midlands police has set up the Life Or Knife initiative, which provides education in schools and allows people to anonymously report when someone is carrying a knife. Our police and crime commissioner has also funded weapon surrender bins across the region. But we have to cut this off at source.
My local paper, the Express & Star,ran an award-winning campaign with a Wolverhampton mother, Pooja Kanda, to ban zombie-style knives and machetes. I applaud the paper for that important work and I fully support the Labour Government’s commitment to ban them. As the victim’s mother I talked about earlier said to me, online retailers must be held to account. Now that the ban has been in place for a few months, will the Minister say whether it is proving successful? In particular, what enforcement action is being taken against online retailers who deliver zombie-style knives straight to people’s homes?
Police presence and reducing access to lethal weapons are important, but perhaps the most important thing of all is education, early intervention and constant support for young people who could get caught up in violence. Research shows that young people who are excluded from education are at greater risk of getting involved in violence, which is why it is so important that we do everything we can to keep young people in school. In the last few years, there have also been important programmes with organisations such as St Giles Trust that have supported young people at teachable moments, such as when they are in custody or A&E.
But in too many cases the intervention comes too late—as in the next case I will talk about. This might be slightly unusual, but I will read the words of someone on the other side: a constituent of mine who went to prison for 14 years for his involvement in the murder of a man using a knife. His words are powerful and important, because, as we have heard, young people respond to others’ lived experience. When I asked him how he feels now about being involved in a knife attack that took someone’s life all those years ago, he said:
“I feel so many emotions. I feel ashamed, I feel embarrassed, remorseful, unequivocally. It doesn’t matter that it wasn’t my plan and I didn’t wield the knife. Ultimately decisions I made that night led to that and if I hadn’t made certain decisions he would still be here. I feel dirty for that...I don’t dream often but when I do they are bad dreams, violent, people trying to kill me...Whenever I see knife crime stories about mothers losing their sons it takes me back. It’s the ripple effects...the people whose houses back on to the park where it happened, the first responders, the guy who was walking his dog who found the body. All these lives are changed forever.”
Having spent so much of his life so far in prison, he now wants to work with young people to stop them following the same path of violence. I asked him what would make the difference for young people now to stop them committing such a terrible crime, and he said:
“It’s more than what to say, it’s what I’d do. The authenticity and realness and empathy is so important.
You need somebody like me who has the life experience. So you can openly talk about their home life, parents, friends, family, hobbies, hopes and dreams. And build the trust and rapport. And show love…Take them on positive trips—take them places they’d never usually be able to afford and show them that this could be your life.
It has to be a 24/7 thing, support all the time.
That night of the offence when I would have reached out—it would have been late and you need someone to be there then. Not office hours and then they turn their phone off. You need someone to say ‘Where are you, I’m coming to you, stay where you are.’”
There is so much more of my conversation with him that I think it would be useful for Members to hear, but there is not the time, unfortunately. I hope the Minister will address the importance of wraparound and consistent support for young people, and the need to make interventions and offer mentoring from a very young age, not just at the point when a child is suspended or already in trouble. My constituent’s key message about what will reduce knife crime is that we need
“education from an early age, in the right way, delivered by the right people.”
Knife crime does not just destroy families. It destroys communities. It destroys towns centres when people are afraid. My constituency neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Tipton and Wednesbury (Antonia Bance) could not attend this debate, but she asked me to reflect on the impact that knife crime also has on schools such as Wodensborough academy, where a pupil who was killed will forever be remembered. I am proud that this Government are so committed to stopping the nightmare of knife crime in our communities, and I see it as my role as the local MP to do everything I can to be part of that.
One initiative I want to highlight is Project Ray of Hope, which was born from the success of the visit of the “Knife Angel” to Walsall in 2023. I went to see the “Knife Angel” and it is one of the most poignant sculptures I could ever have imagined. Just to stand and see it is incredibly powerful. The project, which the James Brindley Foundation is working on, aims to create a permanent public art installation in the heart of Walsall to serve as a poignant reminder of the damage caused by serious youth violence. Importantly, the project aims to engage young people throughout its development, providing them with an opportunity to shape the future of their community through creative expression. This collaboration between the James Brindley Foundation and Walsall council exemplifies the positive role that local organisations can play in raising awareness and providing solutions.
I am aware of the Government’s announcement of the coalition to tackle knife crime. I urge Ministers to include the James Brindley Foundation in this critical initiative, if they have not done so already. The Government should be working closely with this type of organisation, whose expertise and community engagement are essential to exploring effective solutions to this pressing issue. As we all acknowledge the important contributions of organisations such as the James Brindley Foundation, we must also turn our attention to the broader question of how we as a society are responding to knife crime. The Government have a critical role to play, but so too do our local leaders and public services.
The Labour police and crime commissioner and the Mayor have significant responsibilities to ensure that our communities are safe. Yet I fear that, in many cases, we are not yet seeing the level of leadership required to tackle this scourge effectively. Policing and public safety must remain a top priority. The west midlands has one of the highest rates of knife crime in the country, with 175 knife-related offences per 100,000 residents recorded in the region last year. Yet at a time when we need effective leadership, the response from our police and crime commissioner and the Mayor is not good enough.
I have long campaigned for a greater share of police resources in my constituency, including maintaining the police station in Aldridge, which is crucial for ensuring that our community feels safe and has the support it needs to tackle crime at the local level—yet it still remains under threat of being sold off by the police and crime commissioner.
The police must also be empowered to act swiftly. The proposed devolution of powers over policing to the Mayor could, if handled correctly, provide a more direct and focused response to this ongoing issue. I very much hope that the police and crime commissioner will not waste valuable taxpayers’ resources by taking legal action to resist the proposed changes.
It is time for strong leadership. It is time for a change in approach—one that acknowledges the scale of the problem and responds with the urgency it deserves. That includes ensuring that local authorities, our police and our third sector organisations work together more effectively to prevent knife crime and protect vulnerable young people from falling into the trap of gang violence and criminal exploitation.
I believe that one area where we can make a tangible difference is in education. I have long added my voice to calls for the integration of knife crime prevention into the national curriculum, an initiative that could serve as a powerful tool to raise awareness and shape the next generation’s understanding of the devastating consequences of carrying a knife. We need to teach our children about the risks, but we must also equip them with the support they need to resist peer pressure and make better choices. That is why I continue to back the campaign for knife crime prevention to be made a compulsory part of school education. It is a move that has already garnered significant support.
Furthermore, the Government should widen the scope of knife bans. Far more knives are banned now than was the case in 2010, which is good, but it is an issue that all parties should be concerned about. I know the Government continued the policy of banning zombie knives in September, which is great. However, more can and should be done, which is why the previous Government sought to increase the maximum penalty from six months to two years for the offences of private possession, importation, manufacture, sale or supply of prohibited offensive weapons, and for selling knives to those who are under 18.
I am aware that the current Home Secretary commissioned a rapid review to understand how such weapons are sold online and delivered to under-18s, to identify gaps in legislation and to find the most effective ways to close them. I commend that effort, but now we need to ensure that it leads to swift action that strengthens our laws and holds those responsible to account. Rapid reviews must lead to rapid actions.
I reiterate the importance of collaboration across all levels of society. We must work together to reduce knife crime and ensure that our communities and our young people have the support they need to build a future free from violence.
One of the questions we ask ourselves is, “Who is looking out for these boys?” I think child criminal exploitation is often misunderstood by professionals, which prevents the early identification of child victims. Too often, child victims of exploitation are criminalised rather than safeguarded—something that exploiters and organised criminal gangs anticipate and utilise to their advantage. The services that might identify them as at risk—schools, youth services, mental health services—are all under strain: youth mental health services are in crisis, school exclusions have been at a record high and youth services have been cut to the bone. The tragedy is that sometimes it is that absence of a safe space that is putting children at risk.
Some of the stories we hear are absolutely bleak. A Barnardo’s practitioner at a service dealing with child exploitation shared evidence that, during winter, groups of children often gathered outside a leisure centre and sat by the air vents, as that was the only place they could feel warm and safe. That became a spot for exploitation, described as
“a hotspot for adults or older teens with cars driving by and offering lifts…and McDonald’s”.
Of course, that is how the dynamics of exploitation start: the favours, the debts, the escalating patterns of criminality.
I was struck recently by a comment by Martin Griffiths, a consultant trauma surgeon in London and NHS England’s national clinical director for violence reduction—an incredible practitioner who has done some amazing work through his charity. He said:
“County lines drug carriers are all being exploited, whether it’s knowingly or not, by individuals or organisations who utilise them because they are impressionable. They are mentoring these kids to do bad things. These are children who are low on support, self-esteem and resources.”
It is precisely that lack of spaces and opportunities that is part of what puts children and young people at risk. Research by YMCA in 2021 found that, in England, local authority spending on youth services totalled £379 million, a £1.1 billion cut in youth services on 2010. I am hugely relieved that, in Birmingham, despite the current challenges for the council, all youth centres will now remain open and be retained by the council or partner organisations. It is a huge testimony to the importance that residents and young people place on these services in our city, and I want to thank everyone who made their voice heard in the recent consultation.
Communities and families have solutions, and they need to be part of the plan for change. I am really excited about the 10-year Young Futures programme the Home Office is working on, as it has the potential to do great things in my city. The creation of a new network of youth hubs is exactly what we need, and I should be grateful if the Minister would meet with me to discuss the provision in Birmingham.
There were 50,000 knife-related crimes in the year to March 2023 across England and Wales, around 5,000 of which were in the West Midlands police force area. I am heartened by the Home Secretary’s categorical commitment that every youngster found carrying a knife will trigger a rapid intervention, including a prevention plan, to stop them reoffending. Identifying those young people before it is too late is half the battle, and when the signs are there, we must act on them. Can the Minister say more about the plans laid out in our manifesto this summer to place youth workers and mentors in A&E and pupil referral units?
I want to pay tribute to brilliant charities, such as Redthread in my patch, which has been working at the Queen Elizabeth hospital for several years. I mentioned Martin Griffiths, a surgeon and clinical director; the work he has pioneered at his A&E as a trauma surgeon is extraordinary. Young people that he had seen many times before would often turn up on his operating table. He realised that A&E admissions were a critical opportunity to intervene. He has a multidisciplinary team at his hospital, based in A&E. Instead of just patching up children and sending them on their way, the team help them to get education, work or somewhere to live. There is mental health treatment and advice on special educational needs, and the police provide protection and support for those who want to get out of a gang. The hospital allows the patients to stay there until it is safe for them to be discharged. The results have been incredible: readmission rates have dropped from 30% to 4%.
Redthread has a similar model and has demonstrated similarly remarkable results. Some 90% of the young people supported by Redthread did not return to hospital for a violence-related injury in the following year, and six months after the intervention 100% of the young people supported said they felt as safe or safer than they did before the incident. Young people who engaged in the full programme were 51% less likely to reattend than those who did not. A cost-benefit analysis showed that for every £1 spent, there was £4.90 of economic and social benefit. Can the Minister say more about the multidisciplinary and multi-agency work to address violence or exploitation?
Finally, we need to crack down on the criminals and routes into serious violence and crime. It baffles me that we still do not have a specific statutory definition of child criminal exploitation. There have been multiple definitions, resulting in a confused, fragmented response by authorities, and investigators have to use laws on modern slavery to punish those coercing or forcing children to move drugs. A new offence of criminal exploitation of children would allow us to go after the gangs that are luring young people into violence and crime. I look forward to working with the Government on their plans to introduce this new law in due course.
I am proud of the swift action the Government have taken to tackle knife crime so far: banning zombie-style blades and machetes, which were used to kill Ronan Kanda in Wolverhampton, setting an ambitious mission to halve knife crime in a decade, and launching a new coalition to tackle knife-enabled crime working together with technology companies, sports organisations and the health service. But there is undoubtedly a lot more to do. When does the Minister hope to bring forward the crime and policing Bill, so that we can move ahead with the Young Futures programme and strengthen those laws?
The message we need to send to young people is one of hope and opportunity—that our society cares about them and that we are invested in them and their futures. Tackling knife crime has always been about prevention and protection as much as prosecution. After 14 years of abject failure by the previous Government on this issue, I am looking forward to working with the Labour Government to deliver change that saves more lives.
The truth is that the situation is a legacy of a poor decisions over the last decade by the Conservative Government—a legacy of cuts to neighbourhood policing and youth services, rising child poverty, and a failing youth justice system that works in the interests of no one. This Government have a moral responsibility to act now to tackle the crisis, and our response requires a multifaceted approach. First, we must focus on preventing weapons from reaching our streets. That means making it harder for young people to access dangerous weapons such as machetes, ninja swords and zombie blades, and I welcome the Government’s new ban on those weapons.
Secondly, the police must have the resources and powers to stop and seize weapons from young people on our streets. I was shocked to learn that the rate of police stop and search in the west midlands is less than half that in London. As we put more bobbies on the beat, police in the west midlands should be using stop-and-search powers more frequently to respond to rising knife crime.
Finally, and most importantly, we need to address the root causes of offending. We must offer young people hope, opportunities and positive alternatives to destructive pathways. The Government’s creation of the Young Futures programme, which includes prevention partnerships across England, is an important step to intervene early and stop young people being drawn into crime. It is also important to act when people come into A&E departments with violent injuries. That is a time when social workers and youth workers should step in and offer pathways away from violent behaviour. There is no room to let people fall through the cracks.
I have seen the impact that knife crime has on our communities. The families of victims like Ryan Passey deserve real action to prevent these tragedies from happening again and again. I am confident that we can work together to prevent more knives from getting on to our streets, to deter people from carrying them, and to make people across the west midlands finally feel safe.