Don't let off youths caught with knives says the Met
Teenagers who commit knife crimes should be routinely prosecuted and not let off with a caution, police say.
Following a wave of stabbings in London, the Met has raised concerns that significant numbers of juveniles caught with a blade are only cautioned because of rules that avoid sending children to court unnecessarily.
The force believes this is sending out the wrong message and is now calling for reforms to ensure more knife offenders are prosecuted.
In particular, it wants the "weighting" attached to possession of a knife to be raised substantially in the formula used by prosecutors to determine whether a charge should be brought.
The result would be a significant increase in the number of prosecutions but it would leave flexibility for some juveniles, particularly first-time offenders, to be given a second chance.
The proposed change is set out in a Met submission to the Association of Chief Police Officers. Commander Mark Simmons said it was designed to ensure teenagers understood that carrying a knife would carry a criminal sanction and it would bring juvenile charging policy more in line with that for older offenders.
The Met and the Crown Prosecution Service in London recently agreed that adults caught with a knife should receive a caution only in exceptional circumstances.
They also have an informal agreement to adopt a more robust approach to charging juveniles ahead of any formal national change in the rules.
"We want the gravity factor attached to using a knife to increase so it is virtually automatic that someone will be charged and we can change attitudes at a young age," said Mr Simmons.
"We want to be able to go into schools and youth clubs, say there has been a change and emphasise the deterrent effect of a stricter charging policy."
Met figures show that 316 of the 1,228 people in London prosecuted for knife crimes, including robbery, burglary and murder, from April to December last year were 17 or under. Another 482 were aged 18 to 29.
