Knives seized by police Pic: Met Police
An innovative scheme designed to track knife crime offenders using GPS technology that has been trialled in Lewisham and Croydon since February is to be extended across the Eastlondinlines area.
Tower Hamlets and Hackney will be among 20 boroughs around London taking part. The full list can be found here.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan is to invest more than £700,000 in extending the existing programme that tags knife crime offenders with a tracking device after being released from prison.
The GPS tracking devices are designed to limit reoffending, improve rehabilitation and stop further offending. They enable location data to be shared with the Met Police and the Probation Services to improve crime detection and help to enforce restrictions on the movements of offenders.
Khan said: “I am determined to lead from the front and do everything in my power to tackle violent crime in London.”
“As the Met Police Commissioner has confirmed, we are beginning to see a slowdown in both knife crime and violence in London, but we are in no way complacent and we are both committed to seeing a large and sustained reduction of these devastating crimes in our city.”
Gabriel Amahwe, Executive Director of Probation of London CRC said: “Almost half of the offenders on licence tagged to date have been supervised by our employees and the results from these cases are showing the significant potential of this scheme to reduce the incidence of knife crime offences amongst our service users.”
Justice Secretary David Gauke added: “I welcome the expansion of this pilot across the capital, which is yet another step forward in harnessing innovative technology to strengthen the supervision of offenders in the community.”
The police reported 40,829 offences in 2018 involving the use of knives or sharp instruments in England and Wales, against 38,542 in 2017.
The records show that the number of offences has been rising continuously and was at its highest last year since 2011. The last two years shows a drastic increase, whilst between 2012 and 2016 it was maintaining the same levels.
Total offences including homicide involving a knife or sharp object recorded by police
Total offences including homicide involving a knife or sharp object recorded by police Source: Home Office – police recorded data.
Meanwhile, police in Croydon have appealled for the public’s assistance to locate a man who is wanted following a stabbing assault in Thornton Heath.
The man is named as Bekim Maci, who is 19 and last seen around the Croydon area.
Bekim Maci Pic: Met Police
Police said in a statement: “He is wanted following an incident at an Esso garage in London Road, Thornton Heath on 21 December 2018 where a man was stabbed following an altercation.”
The police are appealing for anyone who has seen Maci or knows of his whereabouts to contact officers from the South Area Command Unit on 101 and quote CAD6771/21Dec18. You can also tweet @MetCC. For an immediate sighting of Maci please call 999 or to give information anonymously, contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
