Decision details

It was moved by Councillor Williams and Seconded by Councillor Davies that:

“This Council recognised that the illegal use of knives among the young is unacceptably high, that stiffer sentences for carrying a gun have been successful and stiffer sentencing for carrying a knife would be similarly successful in reducing knife crime;

Calls on the Government to treat knife crime more seriously by amending the Violent Crime Bill currently progressing through Parliament to increase the sentence for carrying a knife in public from two to seven years.”

An amendment to the motion was moved by Councillor Sulaiman and seconded by Councillor Dobbie proposing :

That everything after “is unacceptably high” be deleted and the following inserted:

“and notes that over 5800 convictions were secured in 2004 (the last year for which figures are available) for carrying an offensive weapon (a category which may include knives and bladed weapons), an offence carrying a penalty of up to 4 years imprisonment.

The Council notes that the Liberal Democrats have referred to the “Scandal of prison overcrowding” and rejects a policy that would lead to people who happened to be carrying a knife filling our prisons for seven years each, while the maximum penalty for actual bodily harm remains at five years.

This Council believes that the Labour Government’s decision not to enter in a Dutch auction on prison sentencing policy to garner headlines, but instead to tackle at source the roots of knife and gun crime, through building respect in our communities and promoting safer streets for all, is the correct policy and reflects the Labour Movement’s emphasis on tackling the causes of crime not just the symptoms.

This Council deplores the decision of Liberal Democrats on the Greater London Assembly last week, to vote against introducing Safer Neighbourhoods teams for every ward in London this April; deplores the policy of the Liberal Democrats to legalise buying alcohol at the age of 16, regrets the support of the Liberal Democrats for giving convicted murderers the vote, and most of all deplored the repeated efforts by the Opposition to make up simplistic policies for our communities on the back of an envelope.

This Council therefore endorses and supports the government’s temperate and proportionate approach and welcomes the introduction of new policing teams for every ward by London’s Labour Mayor.

This Council therefore supports neighbourhood policing in every ward as a central part of ensuring our communities are safer and as a key pillar of our strategy for reducing knife and gun crime in our communities.

This Council is committed to working with the Mayor to deliver neighbourhood policing in every ward in Haringey by May of this year”. 

The Amendment to the Motion was then put to the meeting and declared CARRIED.

A named vote was requested in respect of the Substantive Motion.

For: The Mayor (Councillor Griffith), the Deputy Mayor (Councillor Adamou), Councillors Adje, Basu, Bevan, Blanchard, Herbie Brown, Jean Brown, Bull, Davidson, Dawson, Diakides, Dillon, Dobbie, Dodds, Haley, Harris, Hillman, Khan, Knight, Krokou, Lister, Makanji, Manheim, Meehan, Millar, Milner, Peacock, E Prescott, Q. Prescott, Reith, Rice, Santry, Stanton and Sulaiman.

Against: Councillors Aitken, Beacham, Bloch, Davies, Floyd, Hare, Hoban, Newton, Oatway, Williams and Winskill.

Absent : Councillors Bax, Canver, Edge, Engert, Featherstone, Patel, Reynolds, Robertson, Simpson and Wynne.

Councillor Gilbert – resigned from the Council.

The Substantive Motion was declared CARRIED.