Met chief Cressida Dick fingers social media influence for knife crime rise

The UK’s top police officer has said social media is a factor in the growing rate of UK knife crime.



Cressida Dick, the Met Police commissioner, said it created a platform that could see trivial disputes escalate into violence “within minutes”.

"There's definitely something about the impact of social media in terms of people being able to go from slightly angry with each other to 'fight' very quickly," she said.

She also highlighted the impact of drug dealing and absent fathers and added: “it is absolutely as much about socioeconomic factors as anything else”.

Fatal stabbings in England and Wales are this year at their highest level since 2010-11. Thirteen Londoners were killed in just two weeks this month.

Ms Dick announced a task force of 100 officers to tackle violent crime in the capital, while the government is launching a £1.35m social-media advertising aimed at deterring 10- to 21-year-olds from knife crime.

Ms Dick also said stop-and-search was likely to increase, but that it would be “intelligence-led”.

Her comments echo those of Croydon Central MP Sarah Jones, who last year said social media was "fuelling an escalation in the cycle of violence among young people"