Knife Crime: So whatcha gonna do about it?

[one eyed jack]

No hard and fast solution to this but I fear while it might deter some of the more recalcitrant of youths i think it wont make a blind bit of difference with the real hard asses.

I can almost see a "yeah yeah what eva" attitude that will only agitate the victims even more.

So short of execution in public by a bullet to the head in public square; if you were all in power what would you suggest as an effective deterrent to this increasing problem in our inner cities?

Personally I think one year of intensive hard labour for non fatal stabbings. And I mean REAL hard labour. None of that namby pamby knitting woolly jumpers for the needy.

I think a typical offender is most likely to be a very lazy person anyway so a good solid 10 day stretch 5 days a week will be more effective.

Oh and no creature comforts like tv, music or cigarettes. Fuck that! You waived your civil liberties when you stabbed another citizen.

The only things I would allow is a special selection of "educational" books.

[randyandy]

Suppose we could try making things like this work:




With "one year of intensive hard labour for non fatal stabbings. And I mean REAL hard labour. None of that namby pamby knitting woolly jumpers for the needy.

I think a typical offender is most likely to be a very lazy person anyway so a good solid 10 day stretch 5 days a week will be more effective.

Oh and no creature comforts like tv, music or cigarettes. Fuck that! You waived your civil liberties when you stabbed another citizen.

The only things I would allow is a special selection of "educational" books". the final phase.

[max_tranmere]

I think the only way to reduce knife crime is to have a massive increase in stop and search on the streets and punish anyone caught with a knife. They used to do this in high streetcrime neighbourhoods like Brixton in south London, but that led to the Brixton riots (1981) and after that the Home Secretary met community leaders in Brixton and it was agreed that stop and search would be reduced. They also abolished the 'sus' laws after that and everything had to be much more evidence based. So street crime went up and up and the 1980's progessed.

If the Police find a youth carrying a knife, and he was carrying it to either use it to mug someone, or as self-defence in case someone came at him, then he is hardly going to admit that to the Police. I heard of someone once who, when nicked, told the Police he did arts-and-crafts at home and needed the knife for that purpose. He claimed that all the blood that was on the knife had come from him accidentally cutting himself whilst doing his arts-and-crafts at home! Someone had just been knifed in the next street and had been stabbed. This sort of bullshit won't work if the knife is bloodstained and the guy fits the description of someone who just mugged someone nearby - but the bullshit may work if he is just randomly stopped and is carrying a knife.

So now we get into that grey area - what if someone IS telling the truth? If I was laying a linoleum floor in my house and I bought a knife, along with some materials, from a builders merchants and was travelling home - then surely it would be unfair to throw me in jail for carrying it. If, in that instance, I told the Police that it was to assist me with some work I was doing at home (and this is TRUE!) then for them to believe me they would have to believe the guy who is claiming that and was bullshitting.

The only way this could be dealt with effectively would be to ban anyone from carrying a knife in the street for ANY purpose. Also we would need to get back to the old days of Policing when the Police did things because of a 'hunch' and to move away from everything being so evidence-based, which is how everything to do with the Police has been for the last 25+ years following PACE (the Police And Criminal Evidence Act). None of these things will ever happen though.

Sadly, once a city becomes very knife ridden it remains that way (look at Los Angeles) unless someone comes along and does what Rudolph Gualiani did in New York - but the Left and the media don't like all that.

[mrmcfister]

Its all bilge...the problem is too big and some of our 'yoof' have had such a miserable life then their heads are already fucked..put them with their peer group and all the good intentioned stuff gets blown away.Most of them will grow up and out of it but the gang and 'respect' is far more important to them than any solution proferred by middle class cosy social workers and their ilk.You want to stop people carrying knives...you ain't gonna muvver fucker!Dont like it then move to another country where there aren't so many social problems as we have here.

[biffalo]

A good, practical, common-sense based solution to the problem Jack...but will the powers that be take any notice of a good, practical, common-sense based solution....WILL THEY FUCK!!! Because they don't want to..it doesn't affect them, it's only the poor bastards that have to live amongst these knife carrying morons that are affected, so Gordon and his Islington mafia won't do ANYTHING obout it, until it starts to affect them, Twats.
In fact here's an idea Gordon...TAX the bastards for carrying knives, you've taxed everything else, now Tax these fuckers with the knives and keep putting the tax up every budget until people can't afford to buy or carry them anymore. Just think what you've done with petrol and cigs..Tax the fuckers off the streets!!!

[Jacques]

Let's just have a 'Battle Royale Act'

[JonnyHungwell]

You're in the hospital recovering from being stabbed- and in through the door walks some dodge pot, who's been carrying a knife. WTF! no wonder the out-of-touch cunt, Brown, has had to withdraw the idea already. He is an absolute buffoon.

[Jonone]

Guiliani always gets the credit for this yet the man with the strategies wasn't Guiliani but John Bratton.

[planeterotica]

JonnyHungwell wrote:

> You're in the hospital recovering from being stabbed- and in
> through the door walks some dodge pot, who's been carrying a
> knife. WTF! no wonder the out-of-touch cunt, Brown, has had to
> withdraw the idea already. He is an absolute buffoon.

planeterotica wrote:

Exactly, this would be the last sort of person you would wish to visit you in hospital, a woman being interviewed on the news had it right when she said that they should be made to see the victims in the morgue, i would agree with that.

[Jonone]

Correction: William Bratton

"Bratton left the job in 1996 after alleged personal conflicts with Giuliani, partly due to Giuliani's opposition to some of Bratton's reforms, and the belief held by Giuliani that Bratton was getting more credit for the reduction in crime than he was."