Operation Blunt

Report: 10
Date: 26 May 2005
By: Commissioner

Summary

This report provides an update on the Metropolitan Police Service’s initiative to combat knife crime in London.

A. Recommendation

That the report be noted.

B. Supporting information

1. Operation Blunt, led by Commander Jim Smith, is the name given to the MPS’s knife crime initiative established in November 2004. However, some important early work in tackling knife crime had commenced in several leading MPS boroughs from the summer of 2004 onwards.

2. The term ‘knife crime’ is used as a broad definition to include:

• Knife enabled offences of robbery, burglary, sexual offences and violence against the person (‘knife enabled’ meaning that a knife was used to commit the offence or was seen by the victim)
• Carrying a bladed instrument in a public place and possession of an offensive weapon where the article is a knife

3. The objective of the operation is, together with partners and the community, to contribute to making a safer London by:

• Assisting to reduce the level of knife enabled crime
• Reducing the routine carrying or possession of knives

4. A summary of trends in knife-enabled crime in London is attached to this document at Appendix 1. The broad picture is that knife enabled crime is decreasing predominately because of a fall in robbery.

5. The operation is supported by a small central co-ordinating team based within Territorial Policing HQ.

6. Operation Blunt is concentrated on key boroughs where knife crime has been assessed as a particular problem. The following boroughs therefore lead on the operation although the lessons from the initiatives, and any good practice, will be distributed to all other MPS Boroughs/Operational Command Units (OCUs) as the operation unfolds:

• Lambeth
• Southwark
• Hackney
• Newham
• Haringey
  Tower Hamlets
• Brent
• Croydon
  Waltham Forest
  Lewisham
• Enfield
• Hammersmith and Fulham

7. The framework for Operation Blunt consists of a 10-point plan around:

• Enforcement tactics and intelligence profiling
• Young people and youth culture
• Community consultation, inclusion and action
• Media profile, activity labelling and communication
• Technology and deterrence
• Impact on supply – legitimate and illegitimate
• MPS knife amnesty campaign
• Cross over into other activities
• Officer safety
• Evaluation and research

8. Activity to date

An operational steering group involving all the Blunt Boroughs has been established to co-ordinate activities. They have been tasked with preparing a problem knife crime profile for their areas. These profiles will be used to target police activity. In addition, Blunt boroughs have been requested to improve intelligence and information on knife crime and incidents.

9. Education and awareness programmes have been delivered locally in a number of schools in London situated within Blunt boroughs. Southwark borough has also initiated a schools poster competition in three age brackets with cash prizes.

10. The initial meeting of an Operation Blunt external consultation group took place in February (MPA representative – Cindy Butts). The next meeting is likely to be June (date to be fixed).

11. As part of the technology and deterrence strand, an operation was conducted in Hammersmith Train and Bus co-terminus. It trialled a piece of equipment to detect people carrying metal objects. Enfield and Haringey have used search arches in public areas to detect the carrying of knives. In terms of detecting this kind of crime, further assessment will be required as to the suitability of technology in screening large numbers of persons in public places. However, the resultant prevention and media coverage has been successful.

12. Working in partnership with college head teachers, operations using search arches in colleges as a condition of entry have also taken place, as well as the use of hand held wands to assist searching for knives being carried by persons in public areas. Three arrests were made as a result of the search arch operations.

13. In terms of impacting on the supply of knives, a number of BOCUs have already implemented test purchase operations. In Haringey and Southwark Boroughs 38 shops were targeted, nine of which sold to under age persons. Seven cases are being prosecuted and two shop keepers have received warnings.

14. Several knife amnesties and a knife surrender have taken place in leading Blunt Boroughs and other BOCUs in the MPS resulting in 263 bladed articles being handed in.

15. The central Operation Blunt co-ordinating team have established, and continue to establish, internal and external linkages with stakeholders and other key parties (e.g. Home Office, Department for Education and Skills (DfES), Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), etc) who have an interest in tackling knife crime.

16. Planned further activity – short-term

• An MPS media and publicity campaign is in the process of being prepared and implemented.
• On 13 April Haringey borough held a youth conference in which the issue of knife crime was discussed.
• An ACPO conference is planned for 17 May to be chaired by the national lead on this issue, Assistant Chief Constable (ACC), Tony Melville (Devon & Cornwall Police). Operation Blunt will feature heavily in this session.
• A London-wide knife amnesty along with test purchase operations is being planned for this summer (it is hoped this will involve all boroughs not just those operating Blunt).
• Work will continue on exploring the use of search arches and other technical equipment in schools and elsewhere.
• The co-ordinating team is examining ways in which the capture of police and other data around knife crime and the culture of carrying knives can be improved and used more effectively in targeting resources.
• A positive charge policy around knife offences is being pursued through the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
• A review is taking place of locally (Borough based) education/awareness packages on knives with a view to them being disseminated to other BOCUs. The development of a generic package on knives for schools, in conjunction with the Safer Schools Programme, is also being considered.
• On-going refinement of internal data on knife crime and the exploration of external data sources (e.g. London Ambulance Service, A & E) to improve the picture of knife crime/possession of knives in London.

C. Race and equality impact

1. The emerging findings from a number of studies (e.g. Communities that Care survey, local Borough based surveys, Youth Justice Board (YJB) study etc) around the differential impact of knife-enabled crime on victims are being further examined. Further information on this issue will be provided in a subsequent up-date.

2. To comply with the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, the central Blunt team will ensure relevant activities under the operation name are subject to MPS Equality Impact Assessments.

D. Financial implications

Development of initiatives at the pathfinder/pilot sites is being funded from local police budgets. It is likely, however, that funding streams will need to be explored to develop potential initiatives that arise out of further work. The MPS Directorate of Public Affairs (DPA), may provide paid-publicity support for the operation.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author: Ch. Supt Graham Hooper/DCI Gary Baldock (Operation Bunt co-ordinating team)

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

Appendix 1

MPS Knife-Enabled Crime Summary

Statistics to February 2005

In Financial-Year-To-Date to the end of February 2005 (FYTD 04/05), Knife-Enabled Offences made up 1.2% of all Notifiable Offences. This is a small fall compared to the same period in the previous year when it was 1.3%.

• In FYTD 04/05 Knife-Enabled Offences made up 4.8% of Violent Crime Offences. This is a small fall on the same period in the previous year when it was 5.9%.
• In FYTD 04/05 there were 11,134 Knife-Enabled Offences.
• Knife-Enabled Crime decreased by 13.1% in FYTD 04/05 compared to the same period last year.
• In January 2004 Knife-Enabled Crime was at a two-year peak of 1329 offences per month (42 offences per day). Since then it has been on a downward trend with 849 offences recorded in February 2005 (30 offences per day).
• In FYTD 04/05 Knife-Enabled Robbery fell by 20.1% and Knife-Enabled Violence Against the Person by 3.3%.
• Approximately three-quarters of the 13.1% decrease in Knife-Enabled Crime is due to a fall in Knife-Enabled Robbery, which fell by 20.1%. Knife-Enabled Robbery fell faster than all offences of Robbery, which fell by 5.0%.
• The detection rate in FYTD 04/05 was 25.7%, an increase of 6.9% over the same period last year. The sanction detection rate in the same period was 17.8%, an increase of 1.4% over the same period last year.
• In FYTD 04/05 Knife-Enabled Crime comprised 48.5% Violence Against the Person, 45.7% Robbery, 4.6% Burglary and 1.2% Sexual Offences.
• Knife-Enabled Violence Against the Person now makes up 48.5% of Knife-Enabled Crime, and has overtaken Knife-Enabled Robbery as the main contributor.
• As a percentage of Knife-Enabled Crime, Violence Against the Person has risen by 5.0%, while Robbery has fallen by 3.9% (compared to the same period last year).
• The number of Knife-Enabled Violence Against the Person offences fell by 3.3% in FYTD 04/05 compared to the same period last year. This is against a background of a 10.8% rise in all offences of Violence Against the Person.

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