4 V2 Saturday January 1 2022 | the times
News
The deaths of two school-age boys
pushed the number of teenage murders
in London for 2021 to the highest since
records began.
A 16-year-old was found dead in
Yiewsley, west London, and a boy aged
15 was stabbed to death in Croydon,
south London, within an hour of each
other on Thursday night.
The killings drove the total for teen-
age murders to 30 in the past 12 months,
surpassing the previous record of 29 in
2008 and prompting fresh debate about
street violence and gang feuds in the
capital, with experts highlighting the
impact of social media in rapidly esca-
lating conflicts.
The 15-year-old was stabbed to death
in Ashburton Park, Croydon, and was
pronounced dead at 7.36pm.
By 8.25pm, the injured 16-year-old
boy found with “a puncture wound” at
Philpot’s Farm in Yiewsley had died at
the scene despite the efforts of para-
medics.
No arrests have been made in either
case, and neither victim has been
named by the Metropolitan Police.
Scotland Yard said there was no intel-
ligence to link the two attacks, more
than 20 miles apart, but called on
parents to talk to their children about
the impact of carrying weapons.
Police Commander Alex Murray
said: “If you have concerns, talk to
your kids. Make sure they’re not
carrying knives, make sure they’re not
hanging around with kids carrying
knives.”
Murray said the force was “absolutely
committed to bringing those offenders
to justice”, and added: “This is what
happens when knives are carried and
we all have a role in relation to tackling
knife crime.”
The seriousness of the situation was
further underlined by Pastor Beryl St
James, from Shiloh Worship Centre in
Thornton Heath, not far from the
Croydon murder.
St James said she had received a callfrom a parent who had found a knife in
their child’s room that morning. Speak-
ing from the scene of the murder, she
said: “I know we have to work and we all
have duties to fulfil, but as a parent you
cannot think that it’s OK to leave the
state to continually look after your
child.”
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Cryptic clues every day onlineLORNE CAMPBELL/GUZELIANTwo killings within hours push
teen murder rate to a grim high
anti-knife crime charity the Ben Kin-
sella Trust, which was set up in 2008
after the fatal stabbing of 16-year-old
Ben in north London, echoed Murray’s
comments.
“Knife crime is accepted by this gen-
eration as part-and-parcel of growing
up and that’s completely unacceptable,”
he said.
“It shows that not enough has been
done and if I’m being really critical then
I’d say the approach to tackling it has
been scattergun,” Green said, criticising
short-term funding for projects and
warning that the “societal problem”
would continue unless it was properly
addressed.
Junior Smart, founder of the St Giles
Trust SOS Project, which helps divert
young people from crime, said that
technology giants should be asked to
invest profits in areas blighted by
violence.
“The reality is that social media plat-
forms have got a lot to answer for. In
practically every situation where we’ve
seen violence happen there has been
some sort of connection with an online
platform in some form.
“Why are these social media plat-
forms not being held to account?
“Why are we so scared of asking
really difficult questions and why are
these social media platforms not put-
ting more money back in the com-
munities that are being affected by
violence?”
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London,
said he was “devastated” by the
double tragedy, adding: “I refuse to ac-
cept that the loss of young lives is inevi-
table and will continue to be relentless
in taking the bold action needed to put
an end to violence in our city.”John Simpson Crime Correspondent Analysis
F
ares Maatou
was attacked
and killed
with a
samurai
sword outside an
upmarket pizza
restaurant in east
London after school
in April. He was one
of three boys aged 14
murdered in London
in 2021 (John Simpson
writes).
Thirty boys and
young men — there
were no females —
were killed last year
in London. All but
four of the victims
were stabbed to
death, with three shot
and one burnt alive in
a house fire started by
his mother.
Scotland Yard will
remember the year as
having set a record
they both feared and
predicted but werepowerless to stop.
The figure will heap
yet more pressure on
Commissioner Dame
Cressida Dick, whose
contract was extended
in September despite
a series of scandals
and controversies.
Questions will also
be asked of Sadiq
Khan, the London
mayor, who acts as
police and crime
commissioner.
There are questions
too for the
Conservatives, who
after 11 years in power
find themselves
managing the impact
of a surge that was
predicted when they
announced austerity
measures on police,
social services and
youth services in- The Met is
quick to point out
that, compared with
pre-pandemic levels,
knife crime decreased
by 32 per cent in 2021.
The force has
repeatedly claimed
this is due to police
work, pointing to its
decision to increase
stop and search and
its use of hotspot
policing as well as
community outreach
schemes.
The pandemic has
suppressed overall
crime compared with
2019 and despite a
relative return to
normality in recent
months it is unlikely
that the figures are
not skewed by that.
The question
remains: if these other
indicators are
showing signs of
improving, why are so
many boys and young
men being killed in
London?No more grey days