Joe Jackson -
Another deadly night in London is putting pressure on political leaders, as a surge in violence on the streets of the British capital pushes its murder rate higher than New York’s.
Two teenagers were fatally shot and another stabbed in the northeast of the city on Monday night.
Some are blaming budget cuts for the spate of attacks.
Larry Logan, a former police superintendent in east London, said the city is facing “a perfect storm” of reduced police numbers and “decimated” social services due to funding cuts.
He said “overworked” detectives are retiring or quitting as they struggle with the caseloads.
David Lammy, the local MP in Tottenham where one of the teenagers was killed, said he had requested an urgent meeting with Home Secretary Amber Rudd.
Lammy said the violence was being driven by drug turf wars and criticised the government’s funding cuts for police.
London’s Metropolitan Police launched 46 murder inquiries in the first three months of 2018 — including 15 in February and 22 in March.
That is roughly double the number seen in the first quarter of last year and, in the latter two months, more than in New York, a city of comparable size.
It is the first time in modern history that London’s homicide rate, which has grown nearly 40 per cent in three years, has been higher than New York’s.
In the latest violence Monday, a 17-year-old girl was shot dead in Tottenham, north London, in what witnesses described as a drive-by attack.
A 16-year-old boy died in hospital on Tuesday evening, a day after he was shot in the face in northeast London, police said.
“I fully appreciate the alarm, shock and revulsion caused by this murder and other fatal shootings we have seen across London over the last few months,” said Glenn Butler from the Metropolitan Police.
Writing on Facebook, the area’s MP Stella Creasy appealed for witnesses over the “horrific and distressing incident”.
She noted an order allowing police to search members of the public without suspicion amid the risk of violence had been put in place in the area.
London’s mayor Sadiq Khan has also blamed May’s government for underfunding the police.
He says the force has faced more than £600 million in central government grant cuts since 2011, leading to the large-scale loss of police staff and facilities.
“Government cuts have decimated services for young Londoners across our city,” he said. — AFP
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