Poole MP determined to 'end knife crime' after yet another stabbing
Neil Duncan-Jordan says youth services and education essential in preventing knife crime
A Dorset MP is urging the government to invest more in youth services to reduce knife crime.
It comes following a stabbing last Thursday, (22 August) in Vale Road, Poole, where a 15-year-old boy was charged and seven other teenagers were arrested.
Poole MP, Neil Duncan-Jordan told us: “We have to get to a point where young people don't feel it's necessary to go out and have to carry a knife.
“Evidence shows that proactive intervention in young people's lives through things like youth services help reduce crime in the future.”
On August 26, a teenage boy believed to be between 17 and 18 years old is alleged to have stabbed a man in his 20s in Bournemouth’s Lower Gardens.
That was the third stabbing to take place across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in the last week.
Just six days prior, August 20, a nine-year-old girl was stabbed in Gilder Close, Christchurch, with a 28-year-old man later charged with attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon.
MP Neil Duncan-Jordan added: “We have to work out why young people are getting into arguments where they feel the only answer is to commit a grievous act.
“We need to understand why people are quick to anger, the reason why people are taking the law into their own hands.
“If you feel you've got no future or prospects, then you might be prepared to throw that away so we need to give young people a sense of hope and I think that's something that's been lacking.”
Despite the spate of recent stabbings, Dorset Police remains one of the least funded forces in the country.
Mr Duncan-Jordan says he’s lobbying government to invest more in Dorset Police following the concerns of local residents.
He worries the rise in knife crime is damaging the reputation of the town and in turn making those who live in his constituency fearful.
“Poole is a tourist destination and we need to make it as attractive as possible for tourists to come because it's good for our local economy and the vibrancy of the area we live in.
"Anything that detracts from that is a concern, which is why we need to make sure that we act and act swiftly to stop this from happening again.”