Sadiq Khan has urged Theresa May to take a tougher stance on knife crime.
The London mayor is urging the prime minister to intervene earlier to help “vulnerable children”, adding he is also focusing resources on addressing the problem. Mr Khan said that the practice of “off-rolling” (schools ask a child to leave without officially excluding them) was leading to a series of stabbings. Mr Khan has vowed to treat the issues “like a disease”.
At least 35 people have been deliberately stabbed to death since the start of 2019, with four fatal stabbings in the past six days.
Theresa May has promised to host a knife crime meeting and put more resources into policing to decrease the number of deaths. She was challenged by Mr Khan on Thursday to look at the “deep-seated problems” that lead to knife crime.
There has been an increase of children being excluded from schools in England and Wales, More than 7,000 children were excluded in 2017 however three years before hand it was a lower figure of 4,000.
In HM Inspectorate of Prisons 90% of those being held in young offender institutions were excluded children.
Mr Khan told Sky News: “Vulnerable children who, without support, can go on to get involved in criminal gangs or get involved in criminality.
“I’m not saying every child who gets excluded will turn into a criminal, but there is a link and we think the prime minister needs to take ownership of this issue.”
The number of officers in the 43 territorial forces in England and Wales has fallen by 20,000 since 2009.
Mr Khan has co-signed a letter to Theresa May calling for an end to the rising unofficial exclusions.
The letter said: “Clearly, the way the education system deals with excluded young people is broken. It cannot be right that so many of those who have committed offences have been excluded from school or were outside of mainstream education.
“That is why the time has come to act urgently. In the first instance, local authorities need powers and responsibilities over all school exclusions.”
The letter adds: “There is significant variation by schools as to what will result in exclusion, with many excluded pupils moving between local authority areas and also out of their cities. The practice of off-rolling must be outlawed.”
