A councillor has warned Ipswich is beginning to be known for ‘having more bleed kits than defibrillators' as disagreements rumble on with how to tackle knife crime in the town. 

The debate rumbles on amid a response to a letter sent by Cllrs Ian Fisher and Sam Murray on behalf of Ipswich’s Conservative Group to Ipswich MP Jack Abbott and Cllr John Cook, the borough council’s lead for communities at the end of October.

There has been calls for a specific knife strategy for Ipswich to address the different needs of the town compared to more rural places across the county.

The letter said: “There is a common ground, with a desire from us all to improve the safety of our residents.

“Collectively we represent the entirety of Ipswich, in some capacity, and as such we bear a responsibility to the residents of our town.”

Mr Abbott has responded to the letter which called for a meeting to discuss the issue.

Mr Abbott has said he believes a Suffolk-wide coalition between councils and the police should be created to tackle the issue to expand on the work of the current Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs).

He said this would give the police more agency in addressing challenges.

Addressing the letter, Mr Abbott said: “I’m due to have a meeting with Suffolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner about how we positively and proactively take forward a Suffolk Knife Crime Coalition.

“I will, of course, continue to liaise with key stakeholders and am happy to update other interested parties too when appropriate.”

Previously, Mr Abbott said an Ipswich-only approach would not work as the borough council was not responsible for knife crime.

But Cllr Murray argued CSPs already in place did not do enough to address the problems and warned the town was beginning to be known for ‘having more bleed kits than defibrillators’.

The letter added: “We do not wish for this to be watered down by the inclusion of a wider geographical area, especially a Suffolk-wide approach.

“We hope that if we are all moving in the same direction with an Ipswich focus, we can finally achieve something tangible that the public really needs.”