Farron Calls For Amnesty As Knife Crime Rises

South Lakes MP Tim Farron is calling for an amnesty as statistics released last week show that knife crime in Cumbria has risen by 11% in the last year.

In the year ending March 2016, there were 152 incidents of knife crime, an increase of 15 on the previous year, which saw 137.

Tim said: "Knife crime is threatening our communities, and I am extremely concerned that it is on the rise here in Cumbria.

"We need an amnesty to help get these dangerous weapons off our streets. These have been shown to be effective in the past.

"In the long-run, this shows why we must protect our police numbers from government cuts. Knife crime will make local residents, particularly the elderly, afraid to go out on the streets and we need bobbies on the beat to reassure them and tackle this problem."