British PM launches biggest ever summit on knife and violent crime in Britain

LONDON -- British Prime Minister Theresa May hosted the biggest ever Downing Street summit meeting Monday on serious youth violence.

More than 100 government ministers, community leaders, agencies and leading experts are exploring what more can be done by society to tackle the root causes of serious violence and intervene earlier, alongside tough law enforcement.

The summit came just 24 hours after Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced police forces in London and six major British cities had been granted greater powers to stop and search individuals in a major clampdown on knife crime.

Alongside the summit Javid announced an eight-week consultation period on a new multi-agency, public health duty intended to help spot the warning signs that a young person could be in danger.

Measures could include hospital staff reporting when young people arrival at emergency rooms with suspicious injuries or getting teachers to report worrying behaviour by young people at their schools.

Media reports in London said representatives of teachers and hospital staff have attacked any new laws that could see staff held accountable for failing to spot violent crime among young people.

Both the National Education Union and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), have raised concerns, with the RCN saying making hospital staff obliged by law to report people involved in violent crime could deter people from seeking medical help for fear of being reported.

The Home Office, Britain's interior ministry, said multi-agency approaches have been used in Scotland and Wales. They are designed to ensure every part of the system works together to support young people and makes targeted interventions before they commit violence or are groomed by gangs.

"The joined-up approach would be backed up by legislation to make sure professionals in health, education, police, social services, housing and the voluntary sector work together and are held accountable for preventing and tackling serious violence," said the Home Office.

Young people with experience of living in communities impacted by serious violence are also taking part in the summit to share their insights.

May will also meet privately with the families of a number of victims of knife crime to listen to their first-hand experiences of this issue.

May said: "To bring about lasting change and protect young people from the tragic violence we have seen on our streets, we need to work across society to intervene early and stop them from being drawn into crime.

"Strong law enforcement plays an important role, but we all need to look at what we can do in our communities, and in every part of the system, to safeguard young people.

"That is why our plans to introduce a whole community - or 'public health' - approach are designed to identify more young people at risk."

Javid said: "Violent crime is like a disease rotting our society and it's essential that all public bodies work together to treat the root causes.

"The public health, multi-agency approach has a proven track record and I'm confident that making it a legal duty will help stop this senseless violence and create long-term change. I'm committed to ending this scourge and will use all the tools at my disposal to do so."

Government ministers will continue this week to chair a series of meetings, harnessing expert knowledge to boost joint work in specific areas such as the justice system, business, and community support.

Experts, including the Commissioner Cressida Dick, head of London's Metropolitan Police, are exploring the scope and impact of new ideas whilst kick-starting a further program of action.

Following an eight-week consultation period, the government will then make a decision on putting forward new legislation aimed at reducing violent crime.

In 2017-18, almost 300 people in Britain were stabbed and killed, with knife crime remaining a problem in major cities.