'We've not seen anything like this’.
That’s what heartbroken mums tell me in Sheffield about the outbreak of youth violence.
Sheffield used to have a reputation as one of the safest cities in the country, but like so many other towns & cities it has been caught up in the nationwide rise in knife crime & violence.
The figures can’t tell you about the pain of families who won’t see their children grow up, but they bear out the chilling words of those brave mums.
There has never been anything like it.
285 people were stabbed to death last year – the highest ever level dating back to 1946.
Charges for crimes are now at a record low. With youth violence surging many parents will rightly be SAYING what will it take for this government to act?
The police can’t solve everything – far from it - but it is common sense that if you cut police numbers, crime goes up.
Well, the Tories have cut 21,000 officers, far more than any other government since records began all the while handing out tax cuts to the riches.
These are the consequences of those decisions.
But it’s not just the police; it’s common sense that you need to give kids things to do, something to work towards, and give them proper support in schools and in the community.
The unforgivable cuts to vital services like youth clubs, youth workers and teaching assistants have left vulnerable youngsters with nowhere to turn.
A whole generation is being abandoned and today The Mirror proves that the Tory response isn’t worth the paper it is written on.
Seventy percent of bids for their flagship Early Intervention Fund have been rejected because they won’t stump up the cash to keep our children safe.
It’s wrong and it makes me angry.
The new Prime Minister, likely Boris Johnson, has a duty to invest in our kids, not millionaires.
We need to see him put money into a proper nationwide youth service and Sure Start so all our kids get the support they need from day one and though he has voted for brutal police cuts since he became an MP, he needs to learn his lesson, and promise to increase police funding and urgently put thousands of officers back on our streets as Labour have been calling for years.
Tory austerity has hit this country and our kids hard. If we are to break the cycle of youth violence, it has to end.
