Interviews

Knife crime epidemic

by Mark Rowe

For more than a decade I have been arguing that the UK is in the grip of a knife crime epidemic, writes the trainer Steve Collins, pictured, of the personal safety trainers PS5.

I have written books and editorial features. I have given talks and delivered training on the dangers of knives and edged weapons. In fact on page 30 of the May 2017 issue of Professional Security I have an article called ‘Ravaging realities of knives’, where I very clearly state: “If you carry a knife you are a potential murderer.”

Knife crime in the UK is now four times more prevalent than gun crime, and even though the public’s perception is that knife crime is out of control, successive Governments and the police have for years denied that there is a major knife problem in this country. Indeed the massaged statistics that we have been exposed to by Westminster have continually assured us that knife crime has fallen. We are also told that the UK does not have a knife culture, which of course is erroneous; because there has been a knife culture throughout our tiny island’s long and violent existence.

A little history lesson
September 29, 2017 will see the 188th anniversary of the Metropolitan Police. On that day in 1829, the first constables marched out onto the streets of London with little more than a blue tailed coat, a top hat with a thick leather crown, a broad leather stock to protect them from being strangled, a rattle to summon help and a short wooden truncheon. Those who supported this new police force gave them the nick-names of ‘Peeler’or ‘Bobby’ after their founder Robert Peel. However, life was extremely tough and dangerous for the new bobbies and as a result they were forced to fight fire with fire, to overcome fierce hostility and violence shown towards them on the streets. They were frequently attacked, and not just by criminals; it was common for the Army to openly encourage soldiers to attack them. Firemen would assault them if they attempted to help put out a fire and there were many instances of bobbies on traffic duties being horse-whipped and even run down by irate coachmen. Their understandable response to this violence earned them another less faltering nickname, ‘Peel’s bloody gang’! Our 19th century bobby knew the streets he walked only too well. He worked in a society where to steal a loaf of bread or a gentleman’s handkerchief was considered a more heinous crime than beating someone to a pulp and leaving them to die in the gutter. He walked streets where brutal violence was the norm, fuelled by overcrowding, a poor education and grinding poverty … sound familiar? (just add drug abuse and terrorism and it could be today).

Everyone was carrying
The bobby knew only too well that everyone was carrying a weapon. No self-respecting gentleman of the time would be seen dead without his walking cane, most of which were concealing a rapier like blade or stiletto in the shaft. Of course the vast majority of the population could not afford to purchase a fancy swordstick, but everyone could get their hands on a knife. The bobby faced a bewildering variety of edged weapons. Swords, daggers, dirks, cutlasses and bayonets were all carried on the streets by soldiers and sailors of the Royal Navy and the merchant navy alike. All craftsmen and tradsmen such as carpenters, stone masons, butchers, bakers, farmers and dockers, would all carry the blades and other edged tools associated with their professions. Street robbers would commonly use small-concealed daggers, knuckle-knives and cut-throat razors to ply their trade. ‘Peel’s bloody gang’ knew exactly what they were up against and acted accordingly.

Body armour
Of course the problem is still with us and in our modern age of political correctness and litigation, policing Britain’s streets has probably never been more difficult for operational police officers. If this were not true and we didn’t have a knife problem they wouldn’t need to wear ‘stab resistant body armour’ and don’t be fooled into thinking they carry their batons, incapacitant sprays, tazers and firearms to protect the public, because nothing could be further from the truth. People have carried knives in Britain for thousands of years for perfectly legitimate and lawful reasons and they are not going to stop now. However, the problem is that more and more people are carrying knives today for illegal purposes, and sadly those that do it are getting younger and younger. Many of today’s youth show an utter disrespect, if not a total disregard for any kind of authority and all too often are seen to be brandishing knives to anyone who dares challenge their behaviour.

The truth
A Metropolitan Police report indicated that between 2014 and 2016 the number of children carrying knives in London schools rose by almost 50pc, while the number of knife offences in London schools rose by 26pc, and remember this is just London and just kids. In 2015-16, there were 28,859 (selected) offences involving a sharp instrument, in England and Wales. This was 9pc higher compared to 2014-15 but 12pc lower than in 2010-11.

Homicide
There were 213 homicides using a sharp instrument in 2015-16, accounting for 37pc of all homicides. This was an increase from 186 cases in 2014-15 (36pc of all homicides). By police force area, London recorded the highest rate of 114 offences involving a knife per 100,000 population in 2015-16. This was a decrease of 41 offences from 156 per 100,000 people in 2010-11. Surrey had the lowest rate of six offences per 100,000. According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) in 2015-16 a knife was used in 6pc of all CSEW incidents of violence experienced by adults, similar to the previous year’s proportion. CSEW data indicates that 5.8pc of 10-15 year olds and 4.5pc of 16-29 year olds knew someone who carried a knife for their own protection. In 2016 there were 18,322 proven offences for possession of a knife or offensive weapon. Average custodial sentence length (ACSL) for offences involving knives has increased since 1996. In 2016 the ACSL exceeded 6.5 months for the first time.

Hospital admissions
NHS data for 2015-16 show the highest annual increase of 12pc in sharp object related finished hospital admission episodes since 1998-99. Of course none of the above takes into consideration all incidents that never get reported.

What’s being done?
We keep having knife amnesties where we are told that hundreds of thousands of knives have been handed in and our streets are safer. But who is it that surrenders them? Law abiding citizens, that’s who, and certainly not those who carry them for illegal purposes, because the UK knife laws do not apply to them, and so it goes on and on. The fight against knife crime is not working and has never worked. However, as with any problem you first have to admit it exists before you can start to solve it. Maybe this admission by Westminster that knife crime is indeed out of control is a step in the right direction. In the meantime please learn how to avoid and survive a knife attack because it happens to someone in the UK every few minutes.

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