Is knife crime rising?
Murder rate for 2020 climbs as three men stabbed to death

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
The number of homicide investigations launched by the Metropolitan Police in 2020 has risen to six, after three men were stabbed to death last night in northeast London.
According to the BBC, the latest victims, believed to be in their 20s or 30s, were found with knife injuries by officers responding to reports of a disturbance in Seven Kings, Ilford, shortly after 7.40pm. The trio, who were all pronounced dead at the scene, are believed to have been involved in a fight, according to the Metropolitan Police.
Two men, aged 29 and 39, have been arrested on suspicion of murder. Detective Chief Superintendent Stephen Clayman said that the victims and suspects knew each other and come from “within the Sikh community”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The stabbings are the latest in a spate of knife crimes across the capital.
Is knife crime on the rise?
The BBC reports that knife possession offences hit a record high in 2019, with 14,135 offences in the year to September - the most since the data was first compiled, in 2007.
“When possession offences including other weapons were added, the total was almost 22,300 - the most since 2009,” the broadcaster says. However, BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw notes that the increase in possession-related crimes could also be linked to more effective policing and “greater use of police stop-and-search powers”.
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in October revealed that police-recorded offences involving a knife or sharp instrument rose by 7% in the year to June, reaching a record 44,076.
And the BBC reported in November that the number of teenagers stabbed in London had hit its highest level since 2008, accounting for 23 out of 25 homicides in the age group last year.
However, homicide rates across the UK fell for the first time in five years. A total of 650 people were killed in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in 2019 - down from the 774 homicides the previous year, police figures show.
But London bucked the trend, with the murder rate rising for a third successive year. The Met Police launched 149 investigations in the 12 months to 30 December.
And the reaction?
Boris Johnson last week formed a new cabinet committee aimed at combating knife crime and serious violence. Justice Secretary Robert Buckland reportedly told ministers that “every department should be a criminal justice department” in the fight against the growing problem.
But London Mayor Sadiq Khan argues that the increase in violence is being driven by “deprivation, poor mental health, school exclusions and poverty”, adding: “The lesson we must all learn is that you can’t cut police officers, public services, preventative measures and ignore the most vulnerable people in our country at the same time as keeping crime low.”
Sky News police analyst Graham Wettone, a former Met Police officer, has described the rise in knife crime as an “epidemic”.
“In my opinion, the knife crime crisis rests initially and primarily with government and specifically Theresa May as home secretary and then prime minister,” Wettone says.
“Her austerity measures and personal attacks on the police service in respect of funding and resources has contributed to the epidemic of violent offences we are now experiencing.”
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
Is Donald Trump finished in New York?
Today's Big Question How the former president's fraud ruling could ruin him in the city that made him famous
By Rafi Schwartz Published
-
Windmill whales
Cartoons
By The Week Staff Published
-
Why the FTC antitrust lawsuit against Amazon is so consequential
Talking Point While it's not the first case the federal agency brought against the company, it might be the biggest challenge yet
By Theara Coleman Published
-
Lucy Letby to face retrial over attempt to murder baby girl
Speed Read UK’s most prolific child killer to face additional charge after lodging appeal against conviction
By The Week Staff Published
-
Why police are downing firearms after the Chris Kaba murder charge
The Explainer Army drafted in after scores of armed Met officers 'revolt' over charging of colleague
By The Week Staff Published
-
Journalists in UK courts: question of transparency?
Under the radar Proposed changes to justice system include excluding reporters from rape and sexual assault trials
By Harriet Marsden Published
-
Met Police clean-up: more than 1,000 officers suspended or on restricted duties
'Eye-watering' figures show scale of challenge to restore public trust
By Harriet Marsden Published
-
PSNI breach: is the UK taking data security seriously enough?
Today's Big Question Accidental release of personal details of 10,000 Northern Irish police employees could have lethal consequences
By The Week Staff Published
-
Three children among six dead in Chinese kindergarten stabbing
Speed Read The attack follows a number of similar mass stabbings in recent years
By The Week Staff Published
-
Colin Pitchfork: justice secretary attempts to halt killer’s release
Speed Read The double child-murderer has been in and out of prison following a series of parole decisions
By Rebekah Evans Published
-
New suspect named in Stephen Lawrence case 30 years on
Speed Read Baroness Lawrence calls for ‘serious sanctions’ against officers who failed to investigate Matthew White
By The Week Staff Published