The grieving mother of a teenager fatally stabbed on a night out has hit out at critics who “try and tie the hands of the police” in their ability to fight crime.

Sharon Kendall suggested campaigners resisting an increase in officers being able to use stop-and-search powers should “look at all the murdered teenagers’ faces”.

Her son Jason Isaacs was attacked in a residential street in Northolt, west London, on the evening of November 18 last year and died in hospital three days later.

Jason Isaacs
Jason Isaacs, 18, died three days after being stabbed in Northolt a year ago (Met Police/PA)

The 18-year-old apprentice carpenter was described as “amazing” and “wonderful” by Ms Kendall, who said his murder had plunged her into “every mother’s nightmare”.

In an impassioned statement released by the Metropolitan Police, she said: “I am not going to remain silent, nor will we become a statistic.

“There are too many families suffering at the hands of others. The second you decide to carry a knife, there is a very strong possibility that you will ruin a family’s life, and your own.

“We need to get knife crime under control. For those who try and tie the hands of the police in making their job more difficult, I ask you to stop and look at all the murdered teenagers’ faces.

“If we collectively gave a little more support to the police using stop-and-search and enforcement, things would change.”

Ms Kendall said the “loudest voice” in the debate must be the parents who have lost a loved one to knife crime.

Mr Isaacs’s family will release balloons when they return to the scene of his murder on Wednesday to mark the first anniversary of his death.

The tragic commemoration comes as London counts the grim cost of its struggle with violent crime that has seen 120 homicides so far this year.

The figure has already surpassed the total for 2017, when there were 118 in London, excluding the 13 victims of the terrorist attacks at Westminster Bridge, London Bridge and Finsbury Park.

Home Office figures released in October showed that in the first three months of 2018, police conducted 282,248 stop and searches – a fall of 7% on the previous 12 months and the lowest number since current data collection started in the year to March 2002.

While use of the tactic had fallen, the proportion of stop and searches leading to an arrest, 17%, was the highest since the statistical series started.

However separate analysis by the Stopwatch coalition showed that while police use of stop-and-search powers has fallen significantly, there has been an increase in racial disparities in the policing and prosecution of drug offences.

It said forces that cannot use stop-and-search fairly and effectively should have the powers taken away from them “until they can show that they can be trusted to use these powers appropriately”.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid has said he will make sure police have the right powers, including stop-and-search.

“I want officers to feel confident, trusted and supported in using stop-and-search, and I will be looking at ways to reduce bureaucracy and increase efficiency in the use of this power,” he said in October.

On Monday, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced £13 million of funding to tackle serious youth violence in the capital.

With many knife crime victims of school age, Ms Kendall also called on parents to ensure their children are not getting caught up in potentially-catastrophic criminality.

She said: “It goes well beyond the police. Parents have a good idea of what their kids are up to and if you don’t, I would urge you to be proactive. Know who their friends are, go through their phones. You have a chance to intervene when the issue is a ‘dripping tap’. Your parenting may save a life.”

Two men have been charged with Mr Isaacs’s murder, although detectives believe two more suspects are still at large and a £20,000 reward remains on offer for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible.

Ms Kendall said: “Whilst we cannot bring Jason back, you can make a difference by helping the police identify who the two outstanding males are.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the incident room on 0208 785 8099, or to call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.