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The Reader: Met photos of blades are fuelling ‘knife arms race’

As a 15-year-old living in London, it’s not surprising that the rise in knife crime worries me and my peers. But working with community organisers Citizens UK, I’ve found that for a lot of young people this concern stems from photos posted by the Met police on social media.

It’s not uncommon for police forces across the capital to post images of large blades they have seized on the streets, often pointing out they were seized from teens. Southwark police, for example, has posted 42 weapons so far this year already, including machetes and meat cleavers. It’s fuelling fear in the hearts of young people and feeding a weapons race, which sees some inspired by police social media posts to carry bigger weapons.

As a community of young leaders, and with the help of Citizens UK, we’ve started using #TeenCaught to capture the good deeds done by teenagers. The police should join us and post pictures of teen role models instead of weapons. ​
Tehillah Honny​
Citizens UK

EDITOR'S REPLY

Dear Tehillah

You are not alone in your view that photos of knives risk increasing fear and the likelihood of blade-carrying. The Met itself has acknowledged this danger, but on balance has decided that such images should continue to be posted, both to highlight the scale of London’s knife crime problem and to show the public that successful action is being taken in response. I think this is right.

Care should certainly be taken not to exaggerate the problem but downplaying it won’t make it go away either. Moreover, if anything is likely to make young Londoners anxious it will surely be the depressingly frequent knife killings and woundings occurring in this city — not images of seized knives — which could never be appropriate for a media blackout.

As an alternative, posting positive images of teenagers sounds worthwhile. But the ultimate solution must lie in tackling the educational and social causes of knife crime.

Martin Bentham, Home Affairs Editor

Summer magic of England’s win

On Sunday evening I witnessed something marvellous — not just the engrossing spectacle of an astonishing cricket match, but an English cricket team reaping the just rewards for the incredible changes and efforts they have made since the dismal result of the 2015 World Cup.

This match was the culmination of a radical overhaul in the English cricket psyche — how fitting that the New Zealand team we beat was the team that had originally inspired such a radical change in our philosophy and outlook.

I could write at length about the once-in-a-lifetime events that transpired on Sunday — the deflected throw for four extra runs off Stokes’s bat or the bravery of Archer to bowl that deciding Super Over — but the best thing was that the match was shown on terrestrial television for all to enjoy and not just reserved for a select few. We’ll look back at this and realise that in the space of a few hours on a pleasant midsummer’s evening the seeds were sown for the next generation of cricket players and fans to fall in love with the game.
Matthew Carter

A garden bridge in Hammersmith

Following the discussion concerning the state of Hammersmith Bridge, it seems the consensus is that it is a bridge of its time, which has now passed [“Hammersmith Bridge was a Bazalgette gem” July 12].

The prohibitive cost of repairing it is not justified in these tough economic times, and with changing attitudes to car use. This would be an ideal chance to recreate the Garden Bridge project using the current structure with suitably robust repairs to ensure it’s safe for pedestrian use.

With the London Wetlands Centre down the road in Barnes, this could serve as an important green gateway to this beautiful natural habitat.
Chris Worland

Time’s up for Tube station car parks

Theresa Villiers does Chipping Barnet no favours supporting Tube station car parks [“Block Khan plan to build houses on station car parks, says London MP” July 12].

Outer London’s rising population needs to de-emphasise the use of the private car and adopt 21st-century solutions to transport and planning. I also hope East Finchley will be added to Transport for London’s hit list. It may affect residents of The Bishops Avenue, but they can always ask their butlers to give them a lift to the bus stop.
John Cox