Knife Crime Robberies Fall in Enfield Thanks to Targeted Police Action

Last year, knife-related robberies were rising sharply across the country. In response, the government set up a special police taskforce. After just nine months, there’s been a 6% drop in knife robberies in the areas that needed help the most. 

In Enfield, police have used a range of tactics to tackle this, including:

-More visible patrols

-Summer Safety patrols in our parks and town centres funded by the Council

-Knife arches and detection dogs

-Drones and plain-clothes officers

Over 700 arrests made in Edmonton through Operation Pisces, a local joint operation between Enfield's Labour-run Council and the police targeting crime hotspots

Cllr Ergin Erbil said: “We promised to tackle knife crime in Enfield – and we are. We are committed to creating safer streets. There’s more work to do, but these results show real progress. Enfields families and businesses deserve to feel safe.”

The government has achieved a national ban on dangerous weapons like ninja swords, the first of many steps in Labour’s plan to cut knife crime in half over the next decade.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper added: “Since day one we have acted with urgency to turn the tide on knife crime, which destroys lives and devastates communities.  

“When we came to office, knife-enabled robbery was increasing at a concerning rate, but we have now started to drive numbers of those offences down through the work of our dedicated taskforces, and as a result, we have also seen the first small reduction in overall knife crime for four years.

“The drop in knife enabled robbery in key problem areas shows the impact that our strong new action on knife crime is having, but we now need to supercharge these efforts through more smart and targeted interventions. Anyone can be a victim of knife crime, but new ‘hex mapping’ technology shows that the vast majority of knife crime is concentrated in a relatively small, hyper-concentrated number of areas. 

“As part of the Plan for Change, we will use that new technology to support our mission to halve knife crime over the next decade. In the 2020s, the way to be ‘tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime’ is also to be smart on crime, using the latest technology to target criminals and problem areas, and keep the country safe.”

New technology, like detailed mapping of crime hotspots, is being trialled to help police focus resources where they’re most needed. The government is investing £5 million into new tools, such as facial recognition and advanced knife detection, to target the top 50 worst-hit areas.

This is all part of the national Safer Streets Initiative running this summer, which is boosting police presence and making our communities safer.