Schools in areas with the highest risk of youth violence should have dedicated police officers, a committee of MPs has said as knife crime continues to sweep across Britain.
The home affairs select committee warns that the current epidemic of violence has been made worse by a “perfect storm” emerging from cuts to youth services, heavily reduced police budgets and a growing number of children being excluded from school and taken into care.
It also warns of a failure of government agencies to keep young people safe from exploitation and violence.
The MPs suggest that the government’s current strategy to combat knife crime has been ineffective, adding that the rise in serious youth violence must be addressed through “much more concerted government action at a national and local level”.
Committee chair, Labour MP Yvette Cooper, said: “Teenagers are dying on our streets, and yet our inquiry has found that the government’s response to the rise in serious youth violence is completely inadequate.
“Serious violence has got worse after a perfect storm of youth service cuts, police cuts, more children being excluded from school and a failure of statutory agencies to keep them safe.
“The government has a responsibility to deal with this crisis urgently”.
The inquiry recommends “substantial” additional resources for policing, which comes as the new prime minister Boris Johnson pledges to pour £1 billion into recruiting 20,000 extra police officers.
The MPs argue all schools in areas with an above-average risk of serious youth violence should have a dedicated school police officer in a move to increase the confidence of young people in the force, particularly among those from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.
The report comes as homicides have increased by over a third in the last five years, and knife offences have risen by over 70%.
The number of under-18s admitted to hospital with knife injuries also rose by a third between 2013-14 and 2017-18.
The report outlined the need to tackle so-called county lines - the growing practice of using children to traffic drugs into rural areas.
There are thought to be around 1,500 county lines gangs operating in the UK and police believe they are a key driver of knife crime as well as modern slavery.
The committee also warns of the link between school exclusion and knife crime, and describes the provision of part-time timetables as an alternative as a “very serious failing”.
“Most excluded children are in need of more social, educational and emotional support—not less,” the report says.
Cooper added: “We heard from families whose lives have been devastated by serious violence. Young lives can and must be saved, but the government and prime minister must make it a priority to reduce serious youth violence and get a grip on this crisis immediately.”