This House of Lords Library Briefing has been prepared in advance of the forthcoming debate on the impact of government policy on knife crime.
Knife Crime: Government Policy (221 KB , PDF)
On 27 June 2019, the House of Lords is due to debate a motion moved by Lord Paddick (Liberal Democrat). The motion is that “this House takes note of the impact of government policy on knife crime”. This briefing sets out recent statistics relating to knife crime and provides an overview of government policy on the issue, alongside some of the reaction to it.
Data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) demonstrates that in recent years, the level of offences involving a knife or sharp object has risen, in some cases reaching historic highs.
Responding to this rise in serious violence, including knife crime, the Government has announced a series of initiatives aimed at tackling the problem. These include: expanded police powers in relation to stop and search; ring-fenced funding to tackle knife crime; and a consultation on a new legal duty to support a multi-agency approach to preventing and tackling serious violence. These measures have received a mixed response. While some have welcomed the actions taken, others have argued the Government is not doing enough.
Knife Crime: Government Policy (221 KB , PDF)
The Crime and Policing Bill is broad in scope and would include measures aimed at tackling anti-social behaviour, knife crime, violence against women and girls, theft, child sexual abuse, other sexual offending, youth radicalisation and more. It would also contain provisions relating to police powers and misconduct investigations.
In January 2025 the House of Lords Constitution Committee published a report on the responsibility of the government (the executive) to oversee the constitution. It concluded that the UK’s constitutional arrangements would benefit from several improved safeguards, such as the appointment of a senior minister to advise on constitutional matters and for advisory bodies to be put on a statutory footing.
This bill seeks to implement the government’s commitments to modernise the asylum and immigration systems, establish a border security command and introduce enhanced powers and offences to tackle immigration crime and people smuggling gangs. It has completed its passage in the House of Commons and is scheduled to have its second reading in the House of Lords on 2 June 2025.
