‘More bloodshed on the streets': Ex-cop slams police for 'being 'scared of their own shadows' over 'cultural sensitivities'

Officers made just 1,647 arrests for weapons possession between September and December 2024, compared to 2,349 during the same period in 2022.

The dramatic decline in enforcement comes as knife crime reaches crisis levels in the capital, with 15,016 knife or sharp instrument offences recorded in 2023/24.

This marks a significant increase from the previous year's figure of 12,786 incidents..

The trend shows a steady drop in weapons arrests, with figures already falling to 1,829 during autumn 2023, according to Met Police data obtained through a Freedom of Information request.

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Former Scotland Yard detective Peter Bleksley has linked the decline in weapons arrests to police being "scared of their own shadows" over cultural sensitivities.

Speaking exclusively to GB News, Bleksley said: "The grooming gang scandal was a perfect example of the police being scared of their own shadows when it comes to, once again, cultural sensitivities."

He warned that officers are "too concerned about upsetting some of what they call their communities" rather than focusing on "a determined push, a relentless drive to stopping and searching known offenders."

"When that doesn't happen, what's the result? More bloodshed on the streets of Britain," Bleksley added.

The criticism comes as new data shows police are failing to record the ethnicity of two-thirds of child exploitation suspects, with figures only available after suspects are interviewed.

The Hydrant Programme, a landmark national police study, has revealed that grooming gangs commit sexual offences against two children every day in the UK.

The study collected data from all 43 police forces across England and Wales, showing 717 child exploitation grooming crimes in 2023 and 572 in the first nine months of 2024.

Richard Fewkes, director of the Hydrant Programme, said: "Our point is that wherever a child is at threat, wherever a child has been abused, that response should be robust right the way across the board, whoever's committed it, whatever colour their skin, whatever religion they are."

The issue of cultural sensitivity in policing was previously highlighted by Keir Starmer during his time as director of public prosecutions in 2012.

He acknowledged then: "In a number of cases presented to us, particularly in cases involving groups, there's clearly an issue of ethnicity that has to be understood and addressed. As prosecutors we shouldn't shy away from that."

The findings follow Alexis Jay's 2022 Independent Inquiry, which criticised police for "widespread failure" to collect quality data on offenders.