Last week, the government’s ninja sword amnesty came to an end, a period where these bladed weapons could be surrendered by young people to help prevent further loss of young lives to knife crime. Now the amnesty is over, it has now become illegal to possess, manufacture, import or sell ninja swords in our country.
Anyone caught in possession of this kind of weapon in private could face six months in prison, a punishment which is set to be increased to two years under Labour’s flagship Crime and Policing Bill which is currently making its way through Parliament.
It’s clear that Greater Manchester is no exception to growing concerns over knife crime, with 𝗮 𝟵𝟰.𝟲% 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗸𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲. In light of this, I have written to the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, and the Chief Executive of Oldham Council
The local GMP has taken serious steps forward to tackle serious youth violence, there is room to go further. This would include an increased focus on: 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 & 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹-𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗸𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗮𝗺𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 and in-community action; 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 & 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 and youth settings; 𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲; and a 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 of risk to parents and the wider community.
Knife crime devastates communities, tears apart families and leaves our young people vulnerable to exploitation, violence, and, in the worst cases, death. No one should live in fear of violence, which is why we remain committed to making Oldham a safe place for all – a local priority we put forward at last year’s general election.
Together, we must act now for the future of our young people. For further detail, see the letter in-full below on my Facebook page.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 