Parents Have A Role To Play In Stopping Their Children From Carrying Knives

Parents have a role to play in ensuring their children do not carry knives, Sir Keir Starmer said yesterday as he launched a crime crackdown.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, the Labour leader suggested parents should consider handing knives into amnesties to help prevent violence.

Yesterday, he unveiled a plan to tackle the ‘epidemic’ of knife crime, promising to end ‘apology letters’ that allow youths carrying blades to dodge charges.

Rather, he stated that under Labour, in addition to parental interventions, each offender would receive a “bespoke action plan” to help them avoid reoffending.

During his visit to Milton Keynes police station yesterday, Sir Keir unveiled the £100 million annual plan and told the Mail that he was “struck” by the number of parents who turn in knives to the police.

Officers displayed boxes of knives gathered via amnesties to the head of the Labour Party and Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.

In an interview afterwards, he said: ‘I was struck by the fact that family members, including parents, are sometimes handing those knives in.

‘Parents, understanding that something may be going wrong and deciding to take the action of getting rid of whatever it is that might be used.’

Sir Keir added: ‘A parent being involved and knowing that they could be part of the support… every knife in those amnesty bins was not just a knife; it was a life. And that is quite poignant. Parents who feel confident to play their part are very important in that.’

Schools, local police, juvenile offending teams, and parents all have a shared responsibility, according to Ms Cooper.

‘Clearly, we want parents to be involved, to be taking action, and to be making sure that everything possible is being done.

‘When you’ve got young people starting to get drawn into gang activity or have been caught carrying knives, this is immensely serious, and there’s a real danger that things escalate and get worse and that you end up with lives being lost.’

Labour has also promised to introduce new measures to combat anti-social conduct and restore respect in Britain.

In order to deal with chronic offenders, the party has promised to implement “Respect Orders,” which will have the authority to arrest anybody who violates them.

Anti-social conduct, according to Sir Keir, ‘totally devastates individuals’ and there has been a ‘loss of respect across the board’ that has become worse nationwide.

It all sounds great, but many of these young teenagers with knives come from homes where parental support and control are either not there or non-existent.

In what way does Sir Keir Starmer suggest changing “bad” parents into “good” parents?

Jumping up and down and stating the obvious isn’t going to solve the problem. There have to be certain strategies in place, but then it is just like the government to shut the barn door once the horse has bolted.

Simply put, jail time should be the consequence for any adult or child who decides to forge a blade.

We had something called genuine discipline once, but when my kids were smaller, I wouldn’t even let them have a plastic knife or play pistol, much less a real one.

We didn’t have Playstations or an Xbox back then. Now they have these contraptions that they play violent games on and believe that they’re real, and then they go out and wreak havoc on society.

Good old-fashioned games and pleasure are gone. Kids’ made-up games require creativity and require their imagination. Nowadays, children are treated like placated zombies and kept silent by their parents, who either lack the time or choose not to engage with them.

Anything that involves a console should have an 18+ on it!