We need to treat knife crime as an epidemic – and cut it off at source | Sarah Jones

It’s time for a cross-government programme of action to address the causes of the horrific rise in violence revealed by the Guardian this week

• Sarah Jones is Labour MP for Croydon Central and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on knife crime

The figures revealed by the Guardian on Tuesday, which show knife deaths among children and teenagers approaching a 40-year high, should shock us all. What’s more, this year is no outlier. Knife crime is back on the rise in a big way. Last year hospital admissions for knife assault wounds jumped by 21%, which followed a 13% rise the previous year. And the majority of these victims? Young people.

Related: Child knife deaths in England and Wales set for nine-year peak

Related: Beyond the Blade: we finally know how many youths are killed by knives

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from Children | The Guardian http://ift.tt/2k7OuX0