Labour on a mission to halve knife crime, Cooper says

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has set out plans to crackdown on crime as she said the government would attempt to halve knife offences in a decade.

In a speech to Labour conference, Cooper said police would be given new powers to tackle anti-social behaviour, off-road bikes and shoplifting.

The government would also pass a new law to ban the sale of ninja and samurai swords, she said.
Cooper described Labour as the “party of law and order” and said criminals exploited “cracks in the system” under the Conservatives.

The home secretary began her speech in Liverpool by paying tribute to Pooja Kanda, whose teenage son Ronan was stabbed to death with a ninja sword in 2022.

Ronan was 16 when he was killed near his home in Wolverhampton. He was a victim of mistaken identity and two 17-year-olds were sentenced for the killing.

Speaking before Cooper at the conference, Ms Kanda said: “Too many mothers get the devastating news that I got.”
Cooper said lethal weapons were being “put straight in the hands of children”.

“So this Labour government will bring in new laws to crackdown on dangerous online sales and the gangs who draw children in,” she said.