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Knife crime - debate

14 July 2008

Each month on PCS comment we will be hosting a debate where you can have your say on important issues of the day, and each month a selection of your comments will be published in PCS View. This month's debate: knife crime.

At the moment it seems that knife crime is reaching epidemic proportions. Not a day goes by without another tragedy reported in the media.

What is your view on this?

  • Are we getting carried away by media hysteria?
  • Or is this a problem that affects you or your loved ones?

Tell us what your views here on PCS comment:
 

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  1. A few opinions and insights on knives and their related crime...

    13 July 2009

    Knives are something I've never been a stranger to. i first brandished a knife when I was 9 years old and carried one regularly when I was 15, 16 - my first day of secondary school ended up with a kid being stabbed, I've seen people being torn open with blades and my second cousin, Adam Regis, was only 15 when his assailants left him bleeding to death on the side of a road in Newham. It's a ridiculous thing yet one that has deeper issues than simply 'don't carry knives'. I've long put away any form of serrated instrument outside of the kitchen, yet the memory of those years haven't, and will never, leave me. I felt an inane sense of power when I was carrying a knife, something which can only come with recognition and a level of importance that I didn't feel before - it's an important thing when you're a kid, feel like a no one and don't have much of an identity. This, I believe, makes it all too easy to fall into a lifestyle which promises you both attention and a place in your very localised, small minded society [at that stage]. I could never advocate carrying a knife, but I understand why I, and so many others, have before. I'm now working on a project for vinspired called Voicebox that is attempting to get to the core of what kids think, feel and do - but, unlike many projects of this nature, we're going straight to the kids themselves and talking to them. Our current results show that only 13% of current respondents have carried a knife, or even know anyone that does. This, in itself, is indicative of the localisation of these issues. Take a look at the project here - http://voicebox.vinspired.com/ Thanks for letting me share my views, experiences and opinions. Tarik

    Tarik Fontenelle
    Cry Havoc and let slip the Dogs of War

    22 July 2008

    Regardless of your rights to do what you wish to in a lawful manner there is no reason this Universe as to why you would wish to carry a knife. Now I am not referring to a table knife that one uses to butter ones scones nor the dinky little pen knives that the Scouts carry. I am referring to a hunting knife that is 8" in length, serrated, and in some cases doubled edged. There have been countless deaths all over this country and caused by young Ned's that think its "cool" to carry a knife and they know full well that the worse they get is a couple of years and it all goes to their street "Cred". If there is no room in jails then make room or make more jails and when sentencing don't make it a fortnight in Butlands.

    Joe Reilly
    Carrying knives

    21 July 2008

    It seems society is not capable of concentrating on more than one issue at a time. Not so long ago it was gun crime that grabbed the headlines and before that car crime. Each had its fiftenn minutes of fame and slipped from the headlines. Have gun crime and car crime gone away? I doubt it. With each new crime wave that comes along it seems the government ae pressurised into reating new legislation in order to be seen to be doing something. The fact that there are already suitable laws in place to deal with people found guilty of the crime. In the early 1950's it ws the Teddy Boys with the cut throat razor. That gave rise to the 1953 Offensive Weapons Act that dealt quite adequately with the problem and did so for many years. There is sufficient legislation available to deal with the situation. Let the courts decide on the appropriate means of dealing with offenders. The other way can lead to unfair sanctions being imposed because the court has no option but to imprison.

    David Oldham
    Thatcher's children's children

    18 July 2008

    What I find annoying in the debate is the blame placed on the current Government for our broken society. Let's face up to the fact that the parent's of most of these wayward youngsters were brought up in the 'don't care for anyone but you and your own', 'get what you want any way you can' era of the Thatcher years. What parenting skills did many in that generation develop when faced with mass poverty, mass unemployment , raging inflation and the removal of civil rights (remember sequestration of union funds)? For Cameron to say he wants to mend a broken society is laughable as it was the right wing cohorts of his predecessor that created the don't care society in the first place.

    Paul Shill
    Knives

    18 July 2008

    As far as I am aware current laws discrimminate between those carrying knives for legitimate purposes (work needs or to cut up lunch) and those carrying them for other reasons (weapons). So the argument regarding being jailed for having a knife and fork to eat your dinner with being a offence is irrelevant. Carrying a knife as a weapon is an offence that would need to be proved in a court of law in front of a jury. Obviously said jury would find someone not guilty if the person had a legitimate reason for carrying a knife and if you do not agree with this then there are far more important problems than knife crime in our country.

    Peter HARVEY
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