New figures have revealed that arrests for possession of weapons in London have plummeted by 30 per cent over the past three years, with former cop Peter Bleksley blaming the decline on the police “turning into some kind of social service, rather than being a crime fighting force”.
Met Police data obtained by a GB News Freedom of Information request has revealed that between September and December 2024, officers made just 1,647 arrests for the possession of weapons.
This marks a dramatic decline from the same period in 2022, when 2,349 suspects were taken into custody for the offences.
The downward trend in enforcement was already visible in 2023, with arrest figures dropping to 1,829 during the autumn months.
Arrests for ‘possession of weapons’ has declined
GETTY
This stark reduction in arrests comes despite mounting evidence that knife crime remains a pressing issue on London’s streets.
The scale of London’s knife crime crisis has reached alarming new heights, with 15,016 knife or sharp instrument offences recorded in 2023/24.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
This represents a significant surge from the previous year’s figure of 12,786 incidents.
More worryingly, these latest statistics reveal knife crime in the capital has climbed to its highest level since 2019/20, when 15,928 offences were logged.
Former police officer Peter Bleksley has blamed a fundamental shift in policing culture for the declining effectiveness in tackling knife crime.
Speaking exclusively to GB News, Bleksley said: “Generations of senior police officers have actually deliberately turned policing into some kind of social service, rather than being a crime fighting force.”
“There are too many cultural sensitivities around stop and search, which essentially has made the police scared to do it in recent times.”
The veteran officer highlighted how previous government interventions had worsened the situation, stating that former Prime Minister Theresa May’s determination “to stamp down on the amount of stop and search” had “a very damaging effect”.
Former police officer Peter Bleksley has blamed a fundamental shift in policing culture for the declining effectiveness in tackling knife crime
PA
He added: “The way to effectively take weapons off the streets is by targeting those known offenders who are known to repeatedly carry weapons and therefore pose a huge threat to society.”
“What you need is effective deterrent punishments that are handed down by the courts, but unfortunately, we don’t have that,” he said.
“We see people repeatedly carrying knives before they even get in front of the court, and when they do, the sentences are just not stern enough.”
“They don’t send out a message, and consequently, people are encouraged rather than discouraged from carrying knives.”
GB News has reached out to the Met Police for comment.