tinyurl.com/6ytub5 -> www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/2298646/Knife-crime-claims-60-victims-a-day.html
Have Your Say More than 20,000 serious knife crimes were committed last year, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal. Some knives recently taken during a step up in police stop and searches HEATHCLIFF O'MALLEY Six people died in knife attacks in a 24-hour period last week They show that almost 60 people are stabbed or mugged at knife-point every day. A quarter-by-quarter breakdown suggests that the offending has accelerated over the course of the year, fuelling fears that the problem is getting worse. Opposition politicians described the tally as "shocking" and last night demanded action from ministers.
advertisement Six people died in knife attacks in a 24-hour period last week, leading to an unprecedented statement from Scotland Yard aimed at reassuring the public. Among the victims was Melvin Bryan, an 18-year-old who became the 42nd teenager killed in Britain this year and the 20th in London. Gordon Brown called Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, to Chequers yesterday, for urgent talks. The Prime Minister urged the Scotland Yard chief to make full use of new police powers to make pubs and clubs search customers for knives and guns. On Tuesday, Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, will publish her Youth Crime Action Plan. It includes a proposal to make young offenders visit casualty wards to examine knife wounds in an attempt to shock them into mending their ways. Two days later, she will unveil the police figures on knife crime. The Sunday Telegraph has obtained data from 33 of the 43 forces in England and Wales, covering more than four-fifths of the population. The figures show that 20,803 serious knife crimes were recorded in the year to March, or 56 per day. Allowing for forces that did not provide figures, the nationwide total is expected to be about 25,000. If Scotland and Northern Ireland attacks were included, it would be even higher. The count includes only murders, stabbings where blood is spilt, and knife-point muggings. If less-serious crimes such as threats or illegal possession were included, the figures would be much higher. Worst-affected were big urban areas - London, Manchester, the West Midlands, West Yorkshire and Merseyside. Until now, police have counted crimes by the offence - such as assault, robbery or burglary - rather than by the weapon used. Annual totals have included about 100,000 robberies, 20,000 serious woundings and 800 murders. Among the serious knife crimes counted in the new measures, about half are robberies; the other half are murders, attempted murders and woundings. Dominic Grieve, the shadow home secretary, said: "Most people will be shocked to find that knife crime has reached 20,000 cases a year. This illustrates the need to get police back on our streets by cutting the bureaucratic burden on them. There should be a presumption to imprison those caught with knives in excess of three inches in length without reasonable justification." The figures come as the parents of Jimmy Mizen, the 13th teenager to be killed in London this year, said in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph that they hoped the death of their son would become a catalyst to solve the problem of street violence. Ms Smith's plan will set out proposals for "knife referral projects" which will attempt to re-educate people convicted of carrying knives via hospital visits and meetings with victims and prison inmates. The 100 million package of measures, to be tried in eight areas, will also include "youth forums" and street-based youth workers to steer young people away from crime, and the extension of a scheme that removes children from the streets late at night. Councils will be urged to close under-age drinking dens and shops selling knives to children. Young offenders handed community sentences will be told to turn up at inconvenient times, including Friday evenings and Saturdays, while parents could be made to attend court if their child is charged with an offence. Ms Smith said: "I am absolutely shocked at the tragic and senseless loss of life we have seen recently. I want to reassure everyone that the Government is taking the issue of knife crime very seriously." But Harry Fletcher, the assistant general secretary of the National Association of Probation Officers, called the plan a "damp squib".
More on: Law and order > COMMENTS - 161 1 Posted by Phillip Sandusky on July 14, 2008 08:06 PM Any people that will trade a little freedom, for a little safety, deserve neither freedom nor safety. England went down a wrong road when they allowed their government to take away their firearms. A lesson from history: "This year will go down in history. For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration! Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future!" And some truthisms: "Any government that would attempt to disarm its people is despotic; and any people that would submit to it deserve to be slaves!" And now England is in the throws of a knife crime epidemic with no protection and no freedom to defend themselves.
Report this comment 3 Posted by Baron Laurence de Quietzapple - securite et liberte! on July 14, 2008 02:42 PM Deeply regrettable that so many trotskyite committees have bothered to post here, don't they realise that pretending to be Col Blimp's nastier younger neo-nasty sister only encourages the real article?
Report this comment 4 Posted by fsilber on July 14, 2008 02:23 PM The presumption behind gun control is that it was much more difficult to murder someone using a knife. If it is true, then be glad that people are being attacked with knives -- it means that your gun control is working. Ultimately, you either have to eliminate the criminals (one way or another), or decide on what _will_ be the approved method of murder.
Report this comment 5 Posted by Baron Laurence de Quietzapple - securite et liberte! on July 14, 2008 11:31 AM Deeply regrettable that so many trotskyite committees have bothered to post here, don't they realise that pretending to be Col Blimp's nastier younger neo-nasty sister only encourages the real article?
Report this comment 6 Posted by David Hawk on July 14, 2008 11:15 AM For "fedupandenglish" we do NOT have the same problem with knife crime here in New Zealand. It is a fact that parts of our three major cities are relatively unsafe but, particularly in Auckland, if our Pacific Island immigrants were sent home our crime rate would fall by at least 75%. Oh, and incidentally, we have one of the highest rates of firearms ownership in the world and one of the lowest rates of firearms crime anywhere - go figure.
Report this comment 7 Posted by Dan on July 14, 2008 08:03 AM Allow law abiding citizens to conceal and carry guns. This is a deterrent to the thugs who have no qualms about attacking people they know to be unarmed.
Report this comment 9 Posted by Ken Latter on July 14, 2008 07:28 AM Oh the arrogance of this 'government' who just assume that victims of stabbings and the bereaved families will necessarily wish to be used as 'exhibits' for shaming young thugs. Just because the Home Office get an idea, which they don't think through, they believe that all such victims and families will be willing, or SHOULD be willing to become exhibits. Some may, some may not, but having at least some, is central to this new 'initiative' of this crowd in power. In the past they exhibitedthe insane in Bedlam as an entertainment. Of course there will be some victims and families who will be willing to participate in this new idea, but they should only be exposed to the thugs after the thugs have suffered the first shock of the first week in prison. Without that, exposure to the results of their behaviour will be purposeless.
Mike McNamara on July 14, 2008 07:28 AM 20,000 knife crimes in one years. What a good job the Labour Party/Government has done in running this country down, lack of respect, rising crime, care of the criminal, over the victim. It really is time for this sad and pointless lot of idiots to get out!
Mark Yannone on July 14, 2008 06:30 AM England's gun ban accomplished two things: The law-abiding were disarmed, which ...
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