LBC's Knife Campaign Led To 50% Rise In Reports

9 September 2016, 08:01 | Updated: 12 September 2016, 18:56

LBC's campaign to get knives off the streets led to a 50% rise in knife crime reports to Crimestoppers.

DROP THE KNIFE, SAVE A LIFE

Knife crime in London has risen by 16% in the past two years, with at least 10 young people dying on the streets of London in this way since January.  Nationally knife offences were up last year - there were 28,664 incidents across the country in 2015-16, a 10% rise on the previous 12 months.

All this week, we've been looking at various aspects of knife crime, with hard-hitting accounts from youngesters that used to carry a knife and a visit with the Met Police unit tasked with reducing the number of stabbings.

Thanks to the Met Police, Word4Weapons and Crimestoppers, as a result of our campaign calls and online reports from the public about knife crime to Crimestoppers are up 50% since Monday morning.

Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe hailed LBC's campaign and said knife crime is an issue he is particuarly concerned by.

He told LBC: "I congratulate LBC on taking it up as an issue because it worries me.

"It's too many people [who are dying], particularly when it's a young person, to lose their life is diabolical.

"I really worry about just how many people are randomly carrying knives.

"Look at Notting Hill. I think around 70 people that we stopped and searched were carrying knives. There's always a risk they could use that on someone else or they get it taken off them and stabbed themselves.

"Anybody out there who knows someone who generally carries a knife, ring Crimestoppers, ring the police, tell someone and get that knife off the street."