'Get a grip': Emma Reynolds hits out at government over fatal stabbings
A Black Country MP has called on the government to "get a grip" after the number of people stabbed to death across the country hit record levels.
Emma Reynolds, the MP for Wolverhampton North East, has hit out after official figures released today showed there had been 285 fatal stabbings in the year to March 2018, 73 more than the previous year and the highest number since the Home Office began recording the statistics in 1946.
Ms Reynolds said: “The scale of the problems with knife crime has been laid bare by these shocking figures which show the number of people stabbed to death at a record high. I am deeply concerned about this increase in fatal stabbings.
“The government urgently needs to get a grip. I have been campaigning for stronger action on knife crime including the banning of so called zombie knives. I strongly support the Express and Star’s campaign to halt the sale of these large and dangerous knives.
“This government continues to be in denial about the impact of police cuts on the rise in violent crime. Just this week the government pushed through another unfair police funding settlement.
"Since 2010 the West Midlands has faced £175m in government cuts, losing over 2,000 officers as a result. The Chief Constable of the West Midlands, Dave Thompson, recently said he is ‘struggling to deliver a service to the public’ and ‘criminals know how stretched we are.’ West Midlands Police need more funding to allow it to address this alarming increase in fatal stabbings.”
The figures provided by the home office are not broken down by region.
