Evening Standard comment: Stop and search could help reduce knife crime

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The interview in this paper today with the father of Damilola Taylor, the little boy stabbed to death in Peckham 16 years ago, makes grim reading. Richard Taylor says that “things have not got better since Damilola died; if anything the situation is worse”, in respect of knife crime. As he says, “there are now boys as young as 10 roaming the streets with knives and carrying knives has become normal”. Damilola was 10 when he died — it is dispiriting that children are carrying knives at an age when Damilola was focusing on his education — he was targeted by his young killers on his way from the local library.

Mr Taylor, whose charity, the Damilola Taylor Trust, provides educational and employment opportunities for young people, is part of the solution to all of this. But the issue of knife possession requires a robust response from police and schools too. Last year 11 teenagers were knifed to death in London, a tragic waste of hopeful young lives. As Mr Taylor says, much of the problem is to do with drug dealing and possession. Then there is the related problem of gang violence, which means some young people carry knives to protect themselves, with fatal results.

There cannot be no-go areas for the police in estates dominated by dealers and gangs. Stop and search is part of the solution. The police need to be aware of the risk of disproportionately targeting black Londoners, but should not be afraid to use stop and search when they feel it is necessary because it can have an important deterrent effect, as well as sometimes catching knife-carriers.

Similarly, sweeps by police to find places where knives are kept could be carried out more often, although their utility depends on good intelligence. But there must also be a vigorous information campaign, in young offender institutions as well as in schools, to demonstrate to vulnerable young people that carrying knives makes them less safe, not more.

More rail misery

For commuters the New Year shows little sign of bringing relief from the rail misery that beset much of 2016. This week has seen Southern services once again curtailed because of the continuing overtime ban by train drivers’ union Aslef. With the annual rise in season tickets biting too, passengers are having to show greater resolve than ever just to get to work. A full-blown strike by drivers planned for next week has now been halved from six days to three, but since walkouts will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, disruption will be barely less significant. For Aslef to suggest it is somehow doing commuters a favour by limiting their action will sound utterly hollow to those struggling to get to the office.

If London is to remain an economic powerhouse, the smooth running of its transport network remains fundamental. That is why calls to ban strike action on the railways, by designating them an essential public service, must not be discounted if a proper resolution to the current dispute cannot be found soon. Until now, ministers have sought to avoid getting involved — but this nightmare for commuters needs to be brought to an end.

Deadly diesel

Diesel vehicles are prime culprits when it comes to the particulates pollution causing thousands of Londoners to die prematurely every year. So it is entirely sensible for the City of London to urge the Mayor — as part of his consultation exercise on clean air — to refuse to license diesel minicabs and private hire vehicles and to ban them entirely by 2020. We need tough action, now.

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