[Margaret Pilkington]

I think there is a bit of conflation going on there.
The stabbings are down to gang culture and drill music....and I do not think extra police would necessarily affect the statistics relating to such crimes.
There needs to be a change in the culture of these youths...and that is a very difficult change to effect.
Gangs are almost a tribal entity, with territories and there is kudos to be earned by stabbing, maiming or injuring members from other gangs/areas.

Yes, police numbers have fallen, but it needs to be acknowledged that services need to be paid for....and if you are unwilling to foot the bill then you cannot have the service.

We had a labour government for 13 years that used the sound bite 'tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime'
Clearly they were not tough on crime or indeed the causes of crime.
The Labour government of the time fostered a reliance on benefits, reducing aspiration to work or improve personal circumstances.
They spent money like it was going out of fashion...so it was no surprise when they were ousted, to find that there was no money left to spend....many services were curtailed because of this poor economic management.
There were howls of complaint from those who were affected....but the economic facts are....you can only have what you can pay for.

If those who use legal tax avoidance measures(not reined in by ANY government past or present) were prevented from doing so, loopholes (that all governments have known about)were closed and multinational like Google, Amazon, Paid what they should pay, then we could have all the services we need.
But it won't happen as politicians care little about the little man...they only care about how they can make their own lives better.