It is a pleasure to speak in the debate, not least because I have been ill over the last couple of weeks. It is good to be back on my feet today, particularly to support new clauses 6 and 7, along with the amendments tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield North (Nick de Bois). Full tribute has already been made to him, and I would like to repeat that he is indeed the best of advocates and a champion for his constituents, particularly when it comes to knife crime.
It has been good for me to be able to co-author the new clauses with my hon. Friend, although there is an element of sadness and no great pleasure because these provisions arise from the concern in Enfield about the prevalence of knife crime, which is shared across London and, indeed, the country. Welcome progress has been made under this Government on tackling knife crime in all its forms—its prevention and what happens when cases are taken to the courts. Knife crime as a serious form of youth violence is down by more than 19% in Enfield, but one knife attack is one too many, and it is hardly surprising that we are here again, wanting to ensure that sentencing on knife crime is as tough as it should be.
This issue is shared by many Members across the House—it is not exclusive to Enfield. The Opposition’s support is welcome. The Justice Secretary and the Home Secretary have been vocal and public in their support for the new clause, as have a number of politicians across the field. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has been particularly vocal, and has campaigned with us on this issue for a long time.
4.15 pm
It may surprise members of the public that we are here in the first place and to learn that we need additional legislation. When someone is caught with a knife and then convicted, it might not be the first time that they have carried a knife. It might just be the first time that they ended up being caught and convicted. The public may be surprised that that person did not go to prison in the first place. We are considering what should happen the second time that that person gets get caught—not necessarily the second time that they are in possession of a knife—and the second time they end up being successfully prosecuted and convicted. The public may again be surprised that that person does receive a prison sentence. They will be surprised that the sentencing guidelines, which have been in place for many years and have an entry point of custody on the first offence, mean that when someone faces the court for a second time, it is not inevitable that they will receive a custodial sentence. A custodial sentence is often passed, but that is not always the case. We hear statistics that one in four do not receive a custodial sentence, and that must be a cause for concern.
The Minister is not able to give a full official assessment of the increase in the prison population, but in the discussions when this issue came to light reference was made to an increase in the prison population of perhaps some hundreds. What does that prove? It proves that this proposed legislation is needed, because it will have an effect. It will increase the prison population. Without it, there would not be that increase. We have already seen from assessments that the provision is necessary,
and we will no doubt hear a fuller assessment when the new clause is, hopefully, agreed to.
It is perhaps surprising that, as a criminal defence solicitor, I am advocating this measure, because it goes against the interests of many of my previous clients, and that I am advocating wholeheartedly toughening up the way we deal with knife crime. It has been recognised that dealing with knife crime is not just about sentencing. In fact, when an offender gets to court, it is probably already too late. We need to recognise the importance of early intervention, which is key. We need to provide appropriate boundaries and positive role models to raise the aspirations of young people beyond the need to carry a knife and to the need for training, qualifications and a job. In many ways, all that goes without saying. We are, across the House, all wholeheartedly supportive of that. Reference has been made to important Home Affairs Committee inquiries over the years on the need for those other measures, but we are here today to deal with sentencing.