crime reporter,London(wp/es):
pic:Tragic death, The 15 victims of knife crime in London last year
These are the faces of the 15 teenagers whose lives were claimed by knife crime in London last year.
The number of fatal stabbings in the capital in 2015 reached its
highest level in seven years. In 2008, 23 teenagers died after being
stabbed, while in 2012, 2013 and 2014 there were six, seven and eight
victims respectively.
The teenage victims in 2015 were all male, most were from black and
minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds and many were just 17 or 18 years old.
A boy of 15 and a 16-year-old are also among those whose lives were taken this year.
Detective Superintendent Tim Champion from Trident Gang Crime Command
said the level of fatal stabbings had risen because teenagers are
carrying knives as a form of protection as they are “concealable”.
The minority backgrounds of many of the victims were representative
of a multicultural London, Det Supt Champion said, and it was not a
particular minority group being targeted.
He added: “If you speak to youths in London they will always say
[carrying a knife] is for safety and protection. The danger is if
something happens, you will use that knife. This has changed compared to
five or six years ago.
“In every one of these cases, there are relatives who are upset,
friends who have lost friends and parents who have lost their child.
“One murder is tragic and the numbers we have is not something we want to see going forward.”
The youngest victim last year, 15-year-old Alan Cartwright, was
cycling along Caledonian Road, Islington, in February when he was
stabbed in the chest during an unprovoked attack.
He continued riding his bicycle a short distance before collapsing and dying in a pool of blood.
His attacker, 18-year-old Joshua Williams, was jailed for a minimum of 21 years in September.
Mohammed Dura-Ray, 16, the second youngest victim this year, was
allegedly surrounded by a mob of up to 30 youths next to a playground on
the Newington Estate in Elephant and Castle before being fatally
wounded.
The teenager’s friends performed first aid as they battled to save
him before emergency services arrived, but he was pronounced dead just
half an hour later.
Jordan Daley, 20, was charged with his murder and is due to stand trial at the Old Bailey on February 17, 2016.
Other victims of knife crime in London include:
- Vaso Kakko, 17, who was stabbed to death a few hundred yards from where Ben Kinsella was murdered
- Che Wellington, 17, killed hours after his mother gave birth to his baby brother
- Gary Scott, 17, stabbed to death on his way home from a friend's birthday party
Det Supt Champion said the Metropolitan Police is working to decrease
the level of knife crime in the capital and will work with communities
to educate people and try and drive down the number of teenagers
carrying weapons.
He said: “The key message is if you are carrying a knife, we will
know if you have before and we want to stop you. We advocate stop and
search in a targeted way. We know who are gang members and we will
search them.
“If you carry a knife and it is for your own protection, you will
always find yourself in a position you don’t want to be in. It could
cause a murder or an acceleration of violence. It puts others in danger
and it does not make you a bigger person by carrying a knife.
“Before you leave the house, think about the consequences of leaving
the house with a knife. Think how you would feel going out with someone
carrying a knife. Think about being caught up in something you don’t
want to be involved in.”
The Met will also work with the Home Office to crack down in ‘zombie
knives’, which Det Supt Champion said “there is no need for in London
whatsoever”.
George and Deborah Kinsella, whose 16-year-old son Ben was stabbed to
death in 2008, said it was “devastating news” that number of knife
crime murders had risen again.
They said: “Our thoughts and hearts go out to all of the families
that lose a child to knife crime; we have a good sense of what they go
through every day, living through a nightmare that does not get easier
with time.
“We truly believe that early education is the key to stopping young
people carrying and using knives. We use Ben's story to show young
people exactly what happens if you choose this path.
"Education and support needs to start in the home with parents and
families and needs to be continued and supported by schools,
organisations such as ours, the police and the government.
“These children are not statistics, they are a loved family member and a valued friend.”
Anyone caught carrying a knife will be charged and sent to court and
repeat offender face six months in custody, Det Supt Champion said.
He added: “Don’t get yourself a criminal record for carrying a knife and potentially ruin what you want to do in later life.
“We have to work with the community to reduce knife crime and knife
violence - it does not happen overnight. You do not need to carry a
knife and that needs to come across [to teenagers].”
London mayoral candidates Zac Goldsmith and Sadiq Khan – who both
have young families – both said tackling knife crime will be a strong
priority if they are elected in next year’s election.
As part of his pledge to tackle knife crime, Mr Goldsmith, MP for
Richmond Park and north Kingston, is calling for tougher checks to
prevent the sale of ‘zombie knives’ online to under 18s.
George and Deborah Kinsella, parents of murdered Ben Kinsella
He said: “One of the first duties of the Mayor is to keep Londoners safe.
“We won’t solve knife crime overnight, but the first point of any
plan should be to take as many knives off the streets as possible.
That’s why I back the sensitive use of Stop and Search.
“We also need to tackle the supply of knives. I share the concerns of
the police over the availability of so-called ‘zombie killer’ knives
and as Mayor I will work with them, the Government and online retailers
to strengthen the rules so that the law is being properly enforced.”
Mr Khan, who is MP for Tooting and father to two teenage daughters,
said this year’s rise in teenage knife crime “greatly” concerned him.
He said: “I have a real plan to tackle knife crime - based on my
experience working with the victims of crime and the police as a lawyer
and MP.
“If elected as Mayor, I’ll introduce tougher and more effective
sentences for those caught with knives, I’ll stop shops selling knives
to kids, properly map London’s gangs and make our prevention programmes
more effective.
“My plan will make London safer and reduce knife crime, but we must
also give the police the resources they need to keep our communities
safe – nothing is more important.”
The Met will continue with its knife strategy in 2016 to reduce the
level of fatal knife crimes and incidents of knife violence across the
capital.
The strategy includes: targeting high knife crime areas, weapon
sweeps, working with retailers to encourage shop workers to challenge
teenagers on why they are purchasing a knife, working with Trading
Standards and the Home Office and conducting meetings in schools, high
crime areas and gang affected areas.
Anyone who sees somebody carrying a knife is urged to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
