Jim Shannon
Main Page: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)Department Debates - View all Jim Shannon's debates with the Home Office
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Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey, and to give you the respect that you deserve for the position that you hold. May I say a big thank you to the hon. Member for Ashfield (Lee Anderson) for leading today’s debate on this very important issue? Knife crime is such a prevalent issue across the UK, mainly here on the mainland, of course, where the figures are higher, although unfortunately we are also seeing an increasing number of incidents with knives back home in Northern Ireland, so I am very pleased to be here to try to raise awareness of that. As previously stated, the prevalence of knife crime is not and historically has not been the same in Northern Ireland as it has been in England and under other devolved institutions—
Adam Dance
Does the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) agree that knife crime is not increasing just in towns and cities and that we desperately need more funding for community policing in rural areas, such as the Yeovil constituency?
Jim Shannon
I certainly do and I commend the hon. Gentleman for that intervention. I know that he has done lots of work with youth groups in his constituency. Sometimes we need to be at that level to try to change the mindset. All Members are probably focused on that as well.
In Northern Ireland, we are seeing a substantial number of violent and sexual offences that involve sharp instruments. For example, in the 12 months to September 2024 in Northern Ireland, there were 846 violent crimes involving a knife or blade. Those include rape, assault, attempted murder and robbery. I well recall the occasion when my son was a manager of a shop in Newtownards and someone came in high on drugs and probably drink as well and told him to empty the till. This is a question we all ask: when we are younger, we perhaps do not see things the same way and perhaps we are more brave and courageous; for just that second we say to ourselves, “Do I hand it over, or do I grapple with him?” Grappling with someone high on drugs or whatever would not be a wise thing to do, so my son stood back on the other side of the till. The person did not get the money, but the best thing to do was not to grapple and not get stabbed as a result of money in a till. That is one of the things that happened in Northern Ireland.
Some 31% of homicides over recent years have involved a knife and 25% of robberies have involved a sharp instrument. I am sure I do not need to mention the matter of violence against women in Northern Ireland. Since April 2019, there have been some 34 deaths in Northern Ireland from killings involving knives. Those are worrying, tragic, disturbing figures. I have on numerous occasions spoken about this and how horrendous the statistics are. Those victims are more than numbers and we must do more to put our words into action.
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)
My hon. Friend talks about putting words into action. Does he agree with me—this has been expressed in the debate—that it is good, proper and appropriate that we have a debate like this on the increasing prevalence of knife crime? It would be better to see the result of this debate in Government action across the United Kingdom, particularly in towns and larger conurbations where knife crime is on the increase.
Jim Shannon
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for East Londonderry for his intervention. As always, he brings pertinent words of wisdom to the debate and I thank him for that.
There is a worrying trend as well. I read an article about children—my goodness, it is hard to take this in—as young as four years old taking knives or sharp objects into school. It is so bad that parents are calling for metal detectors or arches to be installed in schools. The hon. Member for Ashfield referred to that in his contribution. A freedom of information request highlighted that there were some 1,304 offences involving knives in 2024 at schools and sixth form colleges. Long ago are the days when our children were dropped at school to learn and integrate with their friends. Now some parents are terrified that their son or daughter may fall victim to a knife attack.
Concerns were also raised through the Netflix show “Adolescence”, which brought to light the dangers of social media in regard to knife crime among children. The key word here is “children”. These are not 16, 17 or 18-year-olds who have some capability to make the correct decision; they are young, impressionable people using knives to seriously hurt people or who feel that they have to protect themselves. We are worried about that scenario, so what do we do? I am not saying it is right, by the way. I am just saying that sometimes the reaction is, “I had better carry a knife.”
Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)
In Dorset, where I represent Bournemouth East, figures show 39 knife-related incidents per 100,000 people. That is more than half below the national average, but behind every statistic there is a story. I am thinking particularly of 18-year-old Cameron Hamilton, who was tragically killed. His grandmother Tracy, who I had the honour to meet, has set up an organisation called Changes Are Made. Does the hon. Member agree with the mission of that organisation—that we must put lives before knives? Would he also agree that no one should carry a knife, because the quickest way to destroy a life is to carry a knife?
Jim Shannon
The hon. Member, who is a very assiduous MP, puts forward a viewpoint from his own constituency, which we all endorse, and I thank him for all that he does in his constituency to try to stop people carrying knives.
If we look further across the globe, we hear of knife incidents most days in newspapers or news headlines. The one that probably shocked us all was the case of Iryna Zarutska, who was stabbed three times from behind on a train in North Carolina. She was an innocent lady sitting on her own murdered by a disturbed person. And recently someone was stabbed at a Manchester synagogue—we had a statement yesterday in the Chamber about that. These instances are endless and the stats show the situation is not getting any better.
I hope there is more we can do—I think there is. There are ways to educate young people on the dangers of carrying knives, which is what the hon. Member for Bournemouth East referred to. We need to educate the children at a very early age that it is not wise to carry a knife. We need to take the angst away from the parents who have concerns as well and learn about the reasons why young people feel the need to carry a knife.
I am always very pleased to see the Minister in her place. Her ministership has changed, and I wish her well in her new role; I know that she will try to take forward the same excellence in her new role that she showed in the last one. I also look forward to the contribution of the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Stockton West (Matt Vickers). The Minister’s job is to ensure that we do more to protect people and give the harshest sentences to those convicted of knife crime.
Adam Dance
On a point of order, Ms McVey. May I just correct the record? I think you may have called me by the wrong name when I intervened.