Posts Tagged ‘Criminal Justice System’

Well, here we are again at the debate over knife crime sentencing.

The Tories have called for 2 Years for anyone carrying. How will it work? Where will the prison places come from? And how will the Criminal Justice System cope?

We are in a very difficult place if we take this guideline literally. Currently a citizen is allowed to carry a blade as long as the cutting edge is 3 inches or less and the blade folds into the handle but doesn't lock.

If we look at the case of the Crown Court Judge who pulled out a small knife during a knife crime trial then under proposed plans he should have been locked up for 2 years? Our law is written in such a way that it is able to be interpreted and anyone can interpret the law.

The police will say that even if they discovered such a weapon the carrier would have to have reasonable excuse or lawful authority to be carrying. This obviously relies on the police stopping and searching and then finding a weapon. Realistically the only chance of being stopped and searched is late at night or in a high crime area or between the ages of 18-25. We don't see beat bobbies getting to know communities or the people within them. Only the police have stop and search powers so if its only the people who fall into the above groups who are likely to be stopped and searched how is a difference going to be made? The police do have a difficult job so its up to the politicians to stop posturing and increase police numbers and get bobbies back on the beat in communities winning trust and confidence. Let's have some Chief Constables who come out of their ivory towers every now and then and actually take pride in helping communities instead of meeting targets and deadlines. Yes it will be difficult but trust is earned and good communication skills and building rapport will show results.

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Labour have called for knife crime to be treated in the same was as gun crime. They want anyone convicted of knife crime to face a custodial sentence except in the most exceptional of circumstances. This comes in the wake of the Scottish Parliamentary legislation to tackle the problem which Labour blasted an unacceptable failure

We make the same point we made on Jan 02 2010 that where are all these Prison places going to come from to deal with the problem? It is ridiculous that knife crime is treated less severely than gun crime and yet statistically you are more likely to die from a single stab wound than a gunshot wound.

You only have to look at the figures we published on the 02 Jan to see the scale of the problem facing the Criminal Justice System. While action groups have welcomed the latest move, logistically it is doomed to failure in our opinion.

It is a sad indictment of our society that people feel the need to carry knives and we believe the only way the problem is going to be tackled is by the police introducing beat officers in all areas. Beat officers are seldom seen on housing estates and any contact with the police is going to be seeing them drive or ride by. This style of policing is not getting to communities and the areas that need it. The ploice have a difficult job and it is up to the Government to  put its hand in its pocket and make cash available to recruit.