James Duddridge, Member of Parliament for Rochford and Southend East, has asked the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Office, Victoria Atkins MP, what more can be done to stop children carrying knives in a misplaced sense of security.
During an urgent question in relation to the Governments action on knife crime. James asked Victoria Atkins MP,
"Is she concerned, as I am, that children are carrying knives for their own protection, rather using them against people. What can the Home Office do to promote campaigns such as #KnifeFree to demonstrate that children shouldn't carry knives for defensive reasons?"
To which Victoria Atkins MP replied,
"He is particularly right to identify those children who carry knives for defensive purposes rather than because they are a part of a gang, which is why new orders are important because gang injunctions which are available at the moment only tackle members of gangs. These new orders however help people who are not members of a gang but are carrying a knife out of a misplaced sense of security. The fact remains that if you carry a knife the risk of being hurt by your own knife are considerably higher."
