Dangerous knife and gun criminals are being let loose on streets due to overcrowded prisons, warns Met chief

A NOTTING Hill Carnival reveller caught with an 18-inch “sword” was back on the streets last night – the fourth time he has been freed after being caught with deadly blades this year. Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley revealed the “deeply concerning” case today as he said the “overloaded justice system is getting weaker and weaker,” leaving criminals with guns and knives at large. Sir Mark Rowley said legal curbs on firearms and knives introduced earlier this century were no longer being enforced Credit: PA The Met Police Commissioner said the overloaded system was not going to improve soon Credit: PA Sir Mark told the Met’s governing London Policing Board that tough legal curbs on firearms and knives introduced earlier this century were no longer being enforced because of the “massively stretched” justice system. He said police “offender control” was being undermined and cited the Carnival thug caught with a huge blade by cops during the late August street festival, who was then freed by a court. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Sir Mark said the weapon was “like a small sword, about 18 inches long with a handle.” He added of the offender: “This is his fourth knife offence this year.” The D-handled Zombie knife was found hidden in a trouser leg of a 17-year-old boy in Ladbroke Grove on Sunday. He was arrested and appeared in custody at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Monday and pleaded guilty to possession of a bladed article. The teen – already on court bail – was freed again and granted conditional bail to attend Willesden Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 1 October for sentencing. Sir Mark said the suspect “pleaded guilty to two offences earlier and got a referral order” and then admitted a third offence a few weeks ago and was on bail pending sentence. Most read in The Sun He added: “He’s now on bail and has two referral orders. “He tries to take a small sword into Carnival, and he’s been bailed again.” Sir Mark added: “That is deeply concerning to me….” The Met chief said custodial sentences for “even key knife carriers” were “rapidly reducing,” and far fewer were being remanded in custody. He added that cops were “seeing people charged again and again and again with carrying knives…” Sir Mark said gun suspects were also being freed by courts, with 34 people currently charged with firearms offences and awaiting trial in London on bail. Nine of those cases involved shots being fired, some during confrontations, he said. Sir Mark said policing colleagues around the country had noticed the same trend with London experiencing a sharper load. Cops were dealing with stabbings and “one or two” homicides involving offenders and suspects already in the criminal justice system, he said. He added that the overloaded system was not going to improve soon and stressed that law enforcement had to “get much better” at dealing with the “most dangerous and most prolific.” Comment now