Tackling knife crime has become an urgent political debate after Valdo Calocane admitted to the manslaughter of three people in Nottingham, denying murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Last June he fatally stabbed Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19-year-old students, and a school caretaker, Ian Coates, 65. On Thursday he was sentenced to indefinite detention in a high-security hospital.
The Conservatives and Labour have unveiled proposals for tackling the rise in knife crime – a tacit acknowledgment that it is of deepening public concern in an election year.
What are the new laws that are supposed to help curb knife crime?
The government has announced plans to close a legal loophole and ban the sale of “zombie” knives.
Amendments to the criminal justice bill will raise the maximum sentence for the possession of banned weapons from six months to two years and give police the power to seize and destroy knives found in homes if there are reasonable grounds to suspect they will be used for serious crime.
How have they changed?
Previous attempts to ban zombie knives defined them under the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 as having a cutting edge and a serrated edge and “images or words that suggest that it is to be used for the purpose of violence”. The new law will ban zombie knives with no threatening words or images.
The new rules were introduced to parliament on Thursday but the government has been criticised because they will not take effect until September. This is the government’s third attempt at banning the weapons since 2016.
Why is there talk about mandatory sentences for carrying a knife?
The parents of O’Malley-Kumar’s mother, Sinead O’Malley and Sanjoy Kumar, have made impassioned calls for mandatory prison sentences for carrying a knife.
Idris Elba, the actor and knife crime campaigner, has cautioned against this, saying there is no “one size fits all” that would banish weapons.
According to the sentencing council, possessing a weapon would result in a maximum sentence of four years’ custody, but there is no mandatory sentence.
Those caught threatening with a weapon would receive the mandatory minimum sentence of six months in custody, the council says.
Which loopholes are left?
Elba has expressed concern that there are still loopholes that allow people to carry some swords.
Campaigners have called for tougher rules on swords after Ronan Kanda, a 16-year-old Wolverhampton boy, was stabbed by a fellow pupil with a 55cm (22in) “ninja blade” in November 2022.
Chris Philp, the policing minister, has conceded that some swords will not qualify under the new ban, owing to the difficulty of differentiating between those that could be used for violence and those that are kept for historical or religious reasons.
Philp said some swords would be banned under the latest rules, which target weapons of more than 20cm that have a serrated edge, holes or multiple sharp points. “But a regular sword, like the sort a historic soldier might carry, would probably not qualify. It would depend on the design,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
What does the government say about eliminating knife crime?
Figures published by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday revealed that knife crime rose by 5% in the year to September 2023, with a total of 48,716 offences. The ONS said there was a “notable” increase in robberies involvng a knife, up by 20%.
Ministers have resisted calls for mandatory sentences, saying it is right to allow judges to use their discretion about whether to lock up first-time offenders, with mandatory sentencing reserved for second offences.
What has Labour said?
Labour is focusing on a youth programme to tackle knife crime, pledging £100m for a nationwide initiative to support young people at risk of being drawn into violence. Alongside the programme, it is promising “real consequences” for those who offend, with an end to “empty warnings and apology letters” for those guilty of possession.
The leader, Keir Starmer, likened the intervention to SureStart, a policy of the New Labour government to deliver services and support to young children and their families.
