Tuesday 26 August 2008

More on Scotland


"It is the preoccupation of MSPs and police officers - parts of Scotland are blighted by a street culture of slashing and slaughter. Nearly 12,000 people were treated for knife wounds last year, a stabbing rate that is 3 times higher than in England and Wales". This article by

Monday 25 August 2008

Damian's Law (petition)

If you wish to make a difference there is a petition here asking that carrying a knife means a mandatory prison sentence.
In 2007 Damian Muir aged 34 was stabbed to death for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, his family are campaigning for a change in Scottish Judiciary to change the law.
Please read and sign the petition if you are in agreement with the content.

Thursday 21 August 2008

Devon Police get tough on knife crime


Police in Devon and Cornwall are using tasers to restrain armed offenders (story here) sending a strong message of zero tolerance to people carrying knives in their area.

Wednesday 20 August 2008

Words of a knife victims sister


"Words can't express how I feel right now. My brother is gone but every day, every second we will be thinking of him. He was energetic, always giving a helping hand whenever it was needed. My father cannot accept his only son is dead. He keeps repeating the words 'he's gone' over and over again."
Full article here.

Enough said.

Tuesday 19 August 2008

Join our Facebook group

Communities against knife crime................ If you decide to join and show your support, please send invites to all the people on your friend list. Just click on the link to Facebook in the right hand column to go directly to the page.
Thank you

Footballers say no to knife crime


Footballers say no to knife crime as high profile names like Beckham and Ferdinand join voices with the Home Secretary to fight against knife crime.
New figures revealed that almost 750 people have been stopped and searched every day since a £2 million knife crime blitz was launched in June.
Officers have stopped 55,000 people, arrested 2,500 suspects and seized 1,600 knives during operations in 10 violent hotspots in England and Wales.
The full article can be found here
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/2580296/David-Beckham-tells-of-friend-paralysed-by-knife-attack.html

Monday 18 August 2008


The total of teenagers knifed to death in London this year, reached 23 this weekend.
Sometimes the futility of it all makes me wonder what the point is. Society is so broken, you have to wonder if it ever can be fixed. Elsewhere in the country, knife crime seems to be reaching epidemic proportions.
  • PLEASE DO SOMETHING BEFORE THE PROBLEM GETS ANY WORSE!
It is up to everybody
  • complain
  • demonstrate (peacefully and legally)
  • write to your local Councillors, MP's and the Prime Minister
  • write to your local newspapers
  • petition
Take a stand in any proactive manner you can think of, as long as you don't put yourself at risk and become another statistic.

Saturday 16 August 2008

Direct Gov pages about knife crime


The following article is taken from the Direct Gov web pages.


Knife crime, particularly amongst young people, is in the news almost every day. At the moment, a number of different rules apply to knives and it isn't always immediately clear what is legal and what isn't.

What is and isn't legal

the maximum penalty for carrying a knife is four years in prison and a fine of £5000
  • it is illegal for any shop to sell a knife of any kind (including cutlery and kitchen knives) to anyone under the age of 18
  • it is generally an offence to carry a knife in public without good reason or lawful authority (for example, a good reason is a chef on the way to work carrying their own knives)
  • the maximum penalty for an adult carrying a knife is four years in prison and a fine of £5000
  • knives where the blade folds into the handle, like a Swiss Army Knife, aren't illegal as long as the blade is shorter than three inches (7.62 cms)

Offensive weapons

If a knife is used in a threatening way (even a legal knife, such as a Swiss Army knife), it is regarded as an 'offensive weapon' by the law. This is also the case with things like screwdrivers - once used in a threatening manner, they are treated as offensive weapons. It is an offence to carry an offensive weapon in a public place, if you don't have a reasonable excuse. This means that carrying something that could be viewed as an offensive weapon, and then using it in a threatening way, could mean that you are prosecuted. The penalty is up to four years' imprisonment and/or a fine.

There is a complete ban on the sale of certain types of knives categorised as offensive weapons, regardless of their use, these include:

  • flick knives - knives where the blade is hidden inside the handle and shoots out when a button is pressed; these are also called 'switchblades' or 'automatic knives'
  • butterfly knives - where the blade is hidden inside a handle that splits in two around it, like wings; the handles swing around the blade to open or close it
  • disguised knives - where the blade is hidden inside something like a belt buckle or fake mobile phone

The police's 'Stop and Search' powers

Police officers may stop you, and have the right to search any person or vehicle, if they suspect you of an offence - including carrying an offensive weapon. Weapons regarded as offensive include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • flick knives
  • gravity knives
  • knuckle-dusters
  • sword-sticks
  • samurai swords
  • hand-claws
  • foot-claws
  • belt-buckle knives
  • push daggers
  • butterfly knives
  • blow-pipes or guns
  • kubotan (cylindrical container, holding spikes)
  • shuriken (also known as 'death stars' or 'throwing stars')
  • telescopic truncheons (automatically extending)
  • kusari-gama (sickle attached to a rope, cord or wire)
  • kyoketsu-shoge (hook-knife attached to a rope, cord or wire)
  • kusari (weight attached to a rope, cord or wire)
  • disguised knives (for example, lipstick knives)
  • stealth knives
  • straight, side-handled or friction-lock truncheons

Searches in schools and colleges

School staff in England have the power to search, without consent, any pupil they suspect of carrying a knife or other weapon in school, or on an educational visit. Schools can also screen pupils at random, without suspicion, using a screening arch or an electronic 'wand'. Schools are not required by the law to inform a parent before performing a search, or to get parental consent. It is a criminal offence to bring a knife or other offensive weapon into school.


Manchester youth murdered


In the latest news a 16 year old youth in Manchester has died on his way to hospital after being stabbed.
The latest Home Office figures suggest that there is one victim of knife crime in the UK every 4 minutes. Gordon Brown is proclaiming knife crime will not be tolerated and more severe punishments will be meted out to offenders caught carrying or using knives.
In a separate study, it is claimed there were 130,000 violent offences in the UK last years involving knives.

Thursday 14 August 2008

Gangs become role models for Scottish children


In the Record today, a study was published (here) with 30% of Scottish youth not considering a parent as a role model. 1700 young people took part in the survey and 62% thought joining a gang was a way to find a sense of identity.

Wednesday 13 August 2008

Guns Vs Knives


It appears that knives are overtaking guns as the weapons of choice for teenage gangs. 18 out of the 23 teenagers murdered in London this year have been stabbed to death.

Tuesday 12 August 2008

Man 38 sprayed in the eyes with pepper spray then threatened with knife


In Plymouth a man was sprayed in the eyes with pepper spray and threatened with a knife by a gang he approached and asked to pick up litter they had thrown, other members of the gang were encouraging the youth with the knife to stab the man, who luckily managed to drive off before this threat could be carried out.
It makes a mockery of Jacqui Smith, telling the public to confront antisocial behaviour head on, when so many decent citizens who have taken this approach have been injured or killed.
Pepper spray is outlawed in the UK, even the Police are using a substitute, because of the harm it can cause.
Owners of Internet sites from Europe and the US should be prosecuted if they sell products like tasers and CS gas to the UK.

Monday 11 August 2008

Welcome to communities against knife crime


Welcome to communities against knife crime. On my other Blog, Enough to make the Angels Weep, I was being bogged down (or I guess that should be blogged down) with articles on knife crime, so I thought, "Hey, let's create another Blog dedicated to this blot on society.
Fair warning to readers, this Blog will not be wrapped up in pretty paper, it will 'tell it how it is'
The sad waste of life is appalling and needs to be addressed. The Prime Minister has at least one aspect right in his address yesterday on knife crime, communities should be as responsible as anyone else for putting across a message that knife crime is wrong. This should be a holistic package and people should be partnership working with existing agencies to redress this issue.
Unfortunately the Prime Minister is unavailable by email at present as the service is being worked on, as it may not be a bad idea to lobby constantly about light or non existing sentencing for the carrying of knives.