Posts Tagged ‘Knives’

A 15 year old boy was killed in front of shocked commuters on Thurs 25 Mar inside Victoria station in London.

The boy was 15 year old Sofyen Ghailan. He had been involved in an ongoing knife battle between rival gangs. He was attacked by a mob during evening rush hour on Thurs and chased into the packed ticket hall cornered and repeatedly stabbed in front of shocked commuters.

His attackers fled leaving 2 knives behind at the scene. The incident was captured on CCTV and there have been 20 arrests. Some of the gang were girls and the gang is of Somali or Afro-Caribbean origin.

This again highlights the lack of respect for life that some have in todays society and a lack grasp of the problem and how to deal with it. This has moved the problem to a new level with gangs apparently care free in there pursuit of street justice.

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A retired Sikh Judge, Sir Mota Singh has sparked debate by claiming that Sikh children should be allowed to carry the Kirpan in Schools and other public places.

The Kirpan is one of 5 articles of faith in the Sikh religion. Other articles include Kesh (unshorn hair) and Kara (steel bangle)

The question and debate raised is should the rules be bent to accommodate religious views? Currently it is illegal to carry a knife in the UK without lawful authority or reasonable excuse. However the law becomes vague as a citizen may carry a small knife if the cutting edge is less than 3inches and the blade folds into the handle.

3 inches equates to 7.62cm and we know that 3cm and 4cm stab depth has the ability to puncture the Lung and Heart respectively. The average stab depth in the UK is 8-10 cm.

We know of Health Authorities who allow Sikhs carrying Kirpans into hospitals and we know of others who ask Sikhs to remove them and leave them at reception/security.

In our view having a weapon of any kind increases the likelihood of an individual using it whether its intended for religious use or not. Children being allowed to carry in school is not the right message. Children would probably be more likely to draw and use it not fully understanding the consequences.

Where does it end? If one section of the community is carrying then others will feel disadvantaged and carry especially in areas where there is a high Sikh population.

While we advocate freedom of expression speech and views the line has to be drawn. We have a massive problem with knife crime and saying its ok to carry for religious purposes is dangerous and biased.

Is every Sikh a law abiding and honest citizen? In the same vein is every Muslim a terrorist? The answer to both is a resounding NO.

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Mark Twain once said there are "Lies damn lies and statistics"

The Government and in particular the Home Office have been caught with there hands in the cookie jar and pants down over the publication of statistics relating to knife crime..

In response to rising knife crime and serious assaults the government introduced Tackling Knives Action Programme (TKAP) across 10 areas of the Country and used NHS information (against NHS advice) to show how its initiatives were working reducing admissions to hospitals by 27%

When the actual figures were released by the NHS Information Centre they were barely perceptible showing that in fact government initiatives had no real impact on knife or any other serious crime and in some cases figures had showed an increase.

There are now calls for an independent body to interpret and publish statistics so there is an impartial view and we, the public can get a more honest view of what, I'm sure we already know, government initiatives rarely work.

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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.

Recently released figures show that only 2 people caught carrying knives were given the maximum 4 Year sentence.

2 Years ago the Government doubled the maximum term for carrying a knife in a public place from 2 to 4 Years.

Since then over 50000 people have been convicted of posessing a blade or other offensive weapon but only 6 have received the maximum term. Of those 6 only 2 were for carrying a knife or other bladed or pointed weapon.

256 people were stabbed to death in 2008/09 up a quarter since 1999.

The Government talks tough on knife crime but the official figures tell a much different story. The fact is that Prisons in the UK are already overcrowded so how could the maximum sentence be handed down for even half of the 50,000 recorded crimes? There just aren’t enough prison places.

The governments Violent Crime Action Plan is also flawed. The measures introduced in the wake of public outrage at the number of people being stabbed scrape the surface of the problem but the reality is that the vast majority of offenders who are caught are only given a caution.

The Law allows an individual to carry a knife as long as the cutting edge is 3 inches or less and the blade folds into the handle. Anyone found in possession must have reasonable excuse and lawful authority but what are the chances of being stopped and searched? Very limited unless its late at night, in a high crime area or the subject is already known to police.

We will keep you posted on developments in 2010.
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Teenage girls wanting to join violent male gangs are being forced into having sex and ferrying guns, knives and drugs, police and charities have found.

The girls, some as young as 13, want to join gangs to raise their own profile or to seek protection. Often they are swayed by the status given to the senior members of the gang.

When they first join they are told they must have sex with one member of the gang — and then find several of the gang waiting for them.

What has shocked welfare workers is that the girls accept the situation as normal and do not appreciate that they are being violated.