Knife Crime
Debate between Will Stone and Danny Kruger(2 weeks, 1 day ago)
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Danny Kruger
I agree with every single word the hon. Lady said, except the implication—actually, I will just leave it in agreement.
I respect what has happened in Scotland, and I welcome the reductions they have seen there, but my concern about the public health model is that it might mean we have an excuse not to think about the essential moral challenge of individuals understanding the difference between right and wrong, and the role of stable families in preventing crime. We would then have abused the valuable concept of a public health model.
Will Stone
I want to point out one thing. I agree that stable families are incredibly important. I am from a single-parent family: my mum died when I was young and my dad worked. Youth clubs established by the then Labour council kept me on the right track and stopped me going into certain circles. One of my friends stabbed someone in the behind with a screwdriver and went to jail. Those youth clubs were essential for me to find leadership through sport, so I think there is a role for the state to play. Does the hon. Gentleman agree?
Danny Kruger
I agree, although most youth clubs are not statutory institutions—they might be publicly funded but they belong to civil society, and I honour and welcome them. I pay tribute to the youth club that supported the hon. Gentleman, and indeed the armed forces, which I suspect he would also say played an important role in his being the fine, upstanding citizen that he is today.
Nevertheless, we will never compensate for the epidemic of family breakdown in this country with youth clubs. Youth clubs are vital, the armed forces are vital and all the other institutions of society that come around individuals play an essential role, but if the family is broken in our communities, we will continue to have the tragedies that we have been discussing today.