Ministers vow clampdown on Wolverhampton knife crime
The Policing Minister insists the Government is doing "everything in our power" to clamp down on knife crime in Wolverhampton.
Kit Malthouse said a range of measures including a boost to officer numbers, stricter prison sentences and enhanced stop and search powers would help to end the "senseless loss of life" in the city.
Knife crime in the West Midlands has tripled over the last five years, with Wolverhampton seeing a steep rise in offences involving blades.
Mr Malthouse was responding to a question from Wolverhampton South West Conservative MP Stuart Anderson, who asked what plans the Home Office had to reduce knife crime in the city.
The Minister said: "Knife crime is a scourge on our society that leaves a trail of grief, anger and despair across entire communities, costing lives and leaving people afraid.
"That is why the Home Secretary has increased police funding by more than £1 billion this year, is giving the police more powers to stop and search known offenders, has started recruiting 20,000 more police officers, and is ensuring that those who carry a knife are locked up for longer.
"We will do everything in our power to end these shocking acts of violence and this senseless loss of life."
Mr Anderson also called for a boost to investment for youth centres in the city, saying there was a "strong link between youth knife crime and a lack of youth services".
Mr Malthouse said: "We need to do longer-term intervention work with young people of all ages to turn them away from a life of violence and crime."
He added that the Government was making "significant investments", including through the youth investment fund.
"We want to make sure that all young people across the country have access to good, rigorous, disciplined, socialised activities that teach them the way of truth and light," he said.
