MP calls for partnership approach to knife crime

4 April 2025

A sustainable solution to the scourge of knife crime requires a preventive, community-led and partnership-driven approach, a West Midlands MP has told Parliament.

Paulette Hamilton, Labour MP for Erdington, speaking in the House of Commons last month, said austerity measures introduced by the previous Government had allowed knife crime to thrive in the shadows of neglect.

West Midlands Police Federation secretary Tim Rogers said it was refreshing to hear a politician recognising the fact that the police could not work in isolation to tackle knife crime.

“All too often it appears that people expect the police to be able to overcome all society’s ills, but that is just not possible. We have to work in partnership with other organisations and our communities if we are to get to the heart of these issues and, as well as dealing with the crimes that are committed, we have to be able to work on prevention programmes,” said Tim.

A partnership approach is needed to tackle knife crime, says MP Paulette Hamilton.

“I am pleased one of our local MPs has spoken out on this subject and I hope that at some point in the near future we can meet with Ms Hamilton to discuss knife crime and other issues affecting the officers who police her constituency area.”

Highlighting the fact that 10 people were stabbed in Birmingham every week last year, Ms Hamilton said knife crime was casting a dark shadow over communities, claiming young lives, shattering families and leaving a trail of devastation in its wake.

Knife crime

She told MPs: “Within my constituency covering Erdington, Kingstanding, Castle Vale and South Oscott, the B23 postcode has been particularly affected. In 2023, it recorded the highest number of knife-related incidents in the entire city, but behind those statistics are real lives, real families and real pain. When knife crime tears through families, it destroys lives and devastates entire communities.”

And the MP explained that her own family had been affected with her nephew having been brutally attacked weeks before in an act of ‘senseless knife violence’. 

“His crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. While his wounds are healing, it will take months for him to fully recover. The emotional trauma inflicted on him and our family, however, is immeasurable. This is a pain no family should ever have to endure, yet it is a pain that far too many are forced to bear,” Ms Hamilton said.

“My nephew did not deserve what happened to him - nobody does. Yet too many families are still left to feel this pain, and too many young people are still becoming victims. We can no longer afford to be complacent. Every moment of inaction puts another young life at risk. We must come together across the House and within our communities to break this cycle of violence.”

Sustainable solution

She added: “I have always said that prevention is better than cure, and while the police play a vital role in tackling crime, a sustainable solution requires a preventative, community-led and partnership-driven approach.”

The MP highlighted inspiring examples in organisations like Bringing Hope, which works relentlessly to tackle knife crime among children and young people, the YMCA in Erdington which supports young people. 

She called for a long-term investment in communities, youth services and organisations that were already making a difference.

Tim said he fully supported the MP’s views on investment and also expressed his sympathy to Ms Hamilton and her family following the attack on her nephew.

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