Knife crime in London in recent months has risen to the highest ever recorded levels with 15,0000 offences being committee during last year according to official figures released by the Metropolitan police. I find it alarming that in recent months it has become uncommon to come across news of stabbings every other day from newspapers, television to social media. Amongst all the horrific stories of stabbing in London, there was one which really alarmed us as a security company and that was the story of Tudor Simionov a bouncer killed on duty whilst protecting his colleagues from a group of thugs trying to enter an exclusive Mayfair party.
Tudor relocated from Romania to London to build a better life for him and his fiancé without ever considering the possibility that it is here, in the prosperous city that he will take his final breath. Tudor did more than what was expected of him as a security guard by putting himself in harm’s way as he fought ten men alone to protect those around him. Tudor was fatally stabbed in the middle of the chest and tragically died the death of a hero from his injuries at the scene of the crime.
Factors influencing knife crime
There are many factors which have contributed to this rise in knife crime in London one of the main reasons being the cuts made by the government to the security sector and their reluctancy to invest in social sector for youth. The cuts made to policing is where the cycle begins as it gives criminals more confidence to carry on doing what they are doing. 
The lack of social support that is available for the youth to keep them out of trouble is another factor which has contributed to the rise in knife crime. Today’s youth are getting involved in crime due to the lack of social support that they are receiving outside of the education system. Thus, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that young adults are congregating in street coroner and public parks in groups and getting involved in criminal activity when there are not many other alternative opportunities offered to them. It is here that gangs are either formed or young adults are recruited into gangs and taken into a world of crime.
Postcode wars are a good example of how the lack of opportunity offered to young adults has directly resulted in the rise of knife crime as gangs are constructed based on the locality of their members. Thus, when petty fights break out between members belonging to different localities, they can often turn dangerous fast. Social media is also another factor of blame when considering the rise of knife crime in London, as these young adults take their social media brawls to the streets having faceoffs. Social media is also a tool which allows others to access information about where you are making it easier to target specific people.
The tragic death of Tudor Simionov has forced us to rethink about the safety of those that are obliged to keep us safe. Therefore, in order to prevent anything like this happening to one of our guards we are looking into providing those that are placed on rough sites with anti-stab vests and appropriate training to deal with difficult situations.
In accordance with the SIA, we will be advising our Door Supervisors that they ‘should only use physical intervention as a last resort, and never use more force than is necessary’ [1]
We will also advise to use the ‘RUN, HIDE, TELL’ method to deal with any individual who acts in a threatening manner.
For more information please visit:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/national-counter-terrorism-security-office
https://www.knifefree.co.uk/
[1] Tweet on Twitter from @SIAuk on Friday 4th January 2019 at 12pm