By Michalina Cmoch
A man who was stabbed outside Highbury and Islington station on Saturday is recovering in hospital, becoming the latest victim in a series of rapidly growing knife attacks and other incidents of violent crime in the capital this year.
A 48-year-old woman has been arrested for attempted murder following the attack at 20:30 Saturday evening. The victim was taken to an east London hospital with non life-threatening injuries.
The stabbing is one of a series of violent crime attacks taking place in London in the past few weeks, including the fatal stabbings of three people in North London in the space of 90 minutes on Thursday. A 20-year-old man was stabbed in Walhamstow on Monday, and a 17-year-old was shot in front of her boyfriend’s house later that day.
The rate of violent crime and murders in London has increased – and concerned residents believe it will continue to rise. About 33,000 violent crime incidents were recorded this year and according to Metropolitan Police statistics, there were over 50 murders in British capital since the beginning of 2018. The majority were stabbings with more than 30 people dead as the result of knife crime.
Based on numbers from January and February, the London crime rate has overtaken New York for the first time in history. “Fatal stabbings in England and Wales are now at their highest levels since 2011 – growing by 12 per cent in the year ending December 2017. Stabbings are taking place every three days in London amid concerns of a resurgence of “postcode wars” between battling gangs,” said Independent online.
Citizens of London are shocked and scared as the result of recent events. “Young people these days don’t have much to do. They take drugs and are too violent,” said Paul Milner a retired 62-year-old who lives near Finsbury Park.
“The government needs to do something about it. Every day I hear about a crime involving young people.”
Women in particular have said they are terrified and that they do not feel safe in their own neighborhoods. “Living by myself, I get very scared when I walk home from work alone,” said Catherine Dawson, a 36-year-old office worker.
“I live nearby and I always use the Highbury & Islington station when I come back from work and when I heard about stabbing I was terrified. I read in newspaper about stabbings that took place in London but I have never thought that something like this will happen in my area. We need more police patrols.”
Politicians and police are trying to solve the issue and eliminate violent crime. A Met Police spokesman told the BBC: “One murder is one to many, and we are working hard with our partners to understand the increase and what we can all do to prevent these tragedies from happening in the first place.”
London’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has created a strategy to tackle down knife crime in the capital including supporting the Metropolitan Police Service and Criminal Justice Service, working with Trading Standards to control and prevent sale of knives to underage people, protecting and educating youth and supporting victims of knife crime.
Today, the Mayor is also hosting a summit at City Hall on tackling violent crime in London. Home Secretary, London MP’s, Assembly Members and Council leaders will attend the meeting. “I’m angered and heartbroken by the number of violent deaths on our streets this week – and this year. It’s been devastating to see lives – so many of them young lives – senselessly ended and more families left in despair,” said Khan in a statement on Twitter, promising to provide an additional 300 police officers on the streets of London.
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