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Grounded for a month
• THE recent stabbing incident in Caledonian Road has once again highlighted the extent to which Labour and the Liberal Democrats have failed to tackle violent crime in Islington.
As Conservative parliamentary spokesperson for Islington South, I promise to do everything in my power to ensure a future Conservative government will get tough on knife crime.
As a mother of three sons, I know not all the young people caught up in the Caledonian Road disorder are likely to be serious troublemakers. But it is clear that warnings need to be put in place for those on the verge of getting involved in crime.
A Conservative government would bring in new “grounding orders” with legal force. They would involve less paperwork and delay than Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (Asbos) but would force young people on the verge of crime to stay at home for a month (other than going to school) by way of a warning. However, the orders would avoid creating a criminal record that could blight the individual’s chances of getting a job once he had learnt his lesson.
As for the serious criminals, I believe that police and courts have to work better together. Operation Blunt Two, brought in by Conservative Mayor Boris Johnson last year, has already taken more than 4,000 knives off the streets by using stop-and-search and portable knife-detecting arches.
But we can and must do even more. Sentencing guidelines must be tightened, too. Fewer than one in five of those convicted for carrying a knife go to jail at present. Too many are let off with cautions. Carrying a knife on the streets should mean going to prison.
Violent crime has doubled since Labour came to power in 1997. Only the Conservatives are serious about tackling this – the Lib Dems have a long history of being soft on crime.
ANTONIA COX
Islington South Conservative parliamentary spokesperson
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