Not all knives are bad, writes Steve Collins of trainers PS5.
That said it is almost impossible to escape the monumental increase in violence, especially knife crime, in society and its impact on our daily lives. Every single person is touched by it, either directly or indirectly. The whole of the population has become a victim of violence and weapons related crime, and of course, the threat from international terrorism still looms over us all. Street crime and weapons-related violence have permeated the very fabric of our inner cities and suburban areas; no one seems to be immune. Reports of children committing suicide as a result of bullying in schools are all too common. The statistics showing children carrying weapons and committing horrific crimes of murder and rape are frightening.
For survival
Like it or not we now have thousands of people living in the UK who carry a knife as a matter of course. To many, it’s part of their culture, or even their religion. Sadly, there are also the thousands of kids and teenagers who carry a knife because they live in a ‘war zone’ and fundamentally believe that a weapon is a crucial piece of equipment to aid their survival. Then there are those who look on knives as nothing more than a tool of the trade to be used against their victims to take whatever they want.
Apparently, there were 40,147 offences in the 12 months ending in March 2018, a 16 per cent increase on the previous year and the highest number since 2011, the earliest point for which comparable data is available. Out of the 44 police forces, 38 recorded a rise in knife crime since 2011. Also, data for NHS hospitals in England over a similar period showed a 7pc increase in admissions for knife attack wounds. The world is full of desperate and determined people who are more than happy to maim and kill in the pursuit of their cause. Their motivation can be anything from robbery to acts of terrorism motivated by politics or some misguided religious conviction.
Educate victims
I have said over and over and over, and I make no apologies for sounding like a broken record … ‘If you want to cut knife crime – educate the victims.’
To date, I have not met one person that disagrees with that statement. It’s the victims who pick up the tab for the government getting it wrong; the victims that suffer in silence whilst huge amounts of government resources are poured into futile initiatives that just don’t work. We are all victims of violent crime and as such every citizen in this country should have access to information. People are dying and lives are being destroyed for lack of information. Every citizen in this country should have access to information that helps them to understand the potential threats and gives them options on what they can do to avoid and survive them.
The irony
There is nothing new about weapons related crime and especially knife crime: sharp objects, blades and knives have been used as weapons for thousands of years. For more than 50 years, I have studied and taught methods in which people from both the private and public sectors can protect themselves and those in their care, from the dangers of violence and weapons. But, I wanted to do more than that; I wanted to design a knife – not a fighting knife but, a new type of knife – a knife that had one purpose; to save lives.
Hook positive
It was important to me, after dealing with the negatives of knives, and knife crime, to create something that would be looked on as a positive. Out of this desire came the concept of the ResQHook. This NATO-approved tool has now been in service for more than 20 years and is documented to have saved, literally, thousands of lives. It is deployed by the police, military, rescue and emergency services, and in October the NHS recognised the ResQHook and ResQHook training for its contribution to the best practice in the preservation of life, by presenting me with an award. I hope this illustrates that although there is a major problem with knives, that knives do not necessarily have to have a deleterious effect. All knives have a bad press, but the truth is a knife is a tool nothing, more nothing less, and how that tool is deployed is a matter of choice. Some will use a knife to fashion a work of art; many,will see a knife as nothing more than a piece of cutlery, whilst others will only ever identify the knife as a weapon of offence or defence. Then there are those who see the knife as an honest instrument of virtue, to be deployed with integrity to preserve life. A knife is a tool nothing more nothing less, and how that tool is deployed is a matter of choice. I have been involved with the catastrophic effects of knives, knife crime and have taught defensive tactics against edged weapons, for most of my adult life, and in my heartfelt opinion, the hands of those that raise a knife to do harm should bleed for eternity.
