Britain is in the grip of a sudden surge in violent crime, Britain’s largest police force has warned, adding that years of budget cuts may at least be partially responsible.
Following years of decline in gun and knife crime, the Metropolitan Police, also known as Met Scotland Yard, reported a leap in recorded offenses in the capital, with gun crime rising by 42 percent in the last 12 months and knife crime up by 24 percent.
Police say the crime pattern in London is being replicated around the country.
In January, the then Commissioner of the Met, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, said the “warning lights are flashing” after official figures showed that violent crime was on the increase nationally.
The disclosures will reignite the debate over resources following warnings from a string of senior figures over the impacts of further budget squeezes on forces.
They also come weeks after watchdogs issued a stark warning over the “potentially perilous” state…