Sajid Javid demands end to ‘senseless’ knife crime as two teenagers are killed in 24 hours

The home secretary will meet police chiefs on Wednesday to discuss the issue

Home secretary Sajid Javid has called for an end to "senseless" knife violence after two 17-year-olds were stabbed to death in the space of 24 hours. Jodie Chesney was killed in an east London park on Friday before Yousef Makki died in Manchester on Saturday. The number of young people linked to murders and manslaughter involving knives increased by more than 75 per cent in the last three years, a recent investigation showed. [caption id="attachment_221966" align="alignnone" width="1600"] Jodie Chesney was playing music in a park when she was attacked.[/caption] Javid will meet with police chiefs at the second police constables' round table on Wednesday to discuss strategy and share best practices in dealing with violent crime. On Sunday the home secretary said: "Young people are being murdered across the country and it can't go on. "We're taking action on many fronts and I'll be meeting police chiefs this week to hear what more can be done. "It is vital that we unite to stop this senseless violence." There have been 20 homicides in London so far this year. Jodie Chesney, who police say was stabbed in the back in Romford, was the 18th. Yousef Makki died in the quiet village of Hale Barns, Altrincham. [caption id="attachment_221967" align="alignnone" width="1600"] Two boys have been arrested in connection with Yousek Makki's killing[/caption] Over the course of two weeks three teenagers have been stabbed to death in Birmingham, prompting West Midlands police and crime commissioner David Jamieson to call the issue a "national emergency." The number of offenders under 18 committing homicides using a knife or sharp instrument rose by 77 per cent from 26 to 46 from 2016 to 2018, according to a report by Channel 4's Dispatches. https://twitter.com/sajidjavid/status/1102176415112445953 The investigation also found that robberies with a knife increased from 656 to 999 during the same period, and the number of children aged 16 and under being treated for stab wounds in England rose by 93 per cent. In October the Home Office announced a £200 million youth endowment fund, as well as other measures, to help tackle the problem.