A LOCAL Parliamentary candidate is calling for investment to tackle England’s ‘knife crime epidemic’.
Concern about a national rise in knife attacks grew last year and has only increased in 2019 following a spree of fatal stabbings. The victims have included teenagers in London, Birmingham and Manchester.
New NHS data, meanwhile, shows that more than 100 people were admitted to Leeds hospitals with stabbing related injuries in 2018.
The Liberal Democrats’ Parliamentary candidate for Leeds North West, Kamran Hussain, said: “The figures only include people who were fully admitted to hospital - many more will have received treatment in A&E before being discharged, gone somewhere other than a hospital, or not bothered to get medical help at all.
“These figures show England’s knife crime epidemic has infected communities far and wide outside London.
“The Prime Minister’s failure to grip this herself now shames her office. We demand better for the victims of knife crime and their families.
“We need more police, significant investment in youth services and a reduction in the use of school exclusions as part of a comprehensive public health approach.”
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