In September of last year, Gordon Brown vowed to do all that he could to make the streets of Britain a safer place to be. Yet reports only last week of a 26 year old man, stabbed at a bus stop in Croydon on the way to visit his new born son, highlight just how much of a mountain our police force still have to climb. With a new tough talking Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Paul Stephenson, British hopes for a safer Britain are high. But are these hopes bound to be dashed by the inevitability of conflict on our streets? Can knife crime actually be significantly reduced?
Figures from the Home Office seem to answer this pretty simply. Last year alone 34 people were killed as a result of knife crime in the UK, and over 22,151 offences involved knives or sharp instruments. Despite these figures, the Home Office website assures readers that knife crime is not on the rise, accounting to 7% of all crimes in the UK every year. These somewhat spurious knife crime statistics fail to escape the all seeing eye of the truth, with the statistic not including under 16’s who commit knife crimes, according to the Daily Telegraph. Why does the Home Office assume that a 16 year old cannot inflict the same damage with a knife that a 17 year old can? This type of inaccuracy makes the Government strategy on knife crime seem more successful than in reality, and begs the question, What are police actually doing to combat knife crime on the streets?, and more specifically the streets of Birmingham.
Speaking with Inspector Phillip Asquith, head of knife crime at the Bournville Lane branch of West Midlands Police, it’s evident that there is a comprehensive Police strategy on knife crime being carried out in the student area of Selly Oak and the surrounding student suburbs. Figures provided by Bournville lane Police indicate that knife crime in the Bournville area has steadily declined, resulting in 157 incidences last year. Reasons for the steady decline seem to be representative of the implementation of a tougher “stop and search” policy, as well as the use of “knife arches”, used on the doors of clubs and pubs, which detect metallic objects on persons entering the establishments. In conjunction with the two tactics mentioned, the Police have also utilised the Internet, with the “Safer Students” part of the West Midlands Police website offering advice and tips on staying safe in student areas such as Selly Oak.
In a more widespread strategy Police are aiming to educate British youths on the dangers and consequences of knife crime. Inspector Asquith highlighted how Police strategy such as “Tooled up for schools” is helping to educate teenagers at Secondary Schools in the area on the repercussions of carrying lethal weapons such as knives. Once again, the Police are using the Internet to reach out to young people in the Midlands area, with websites such as oneknifeonelife.com, providing information for both victims and youngsters involved with knife crime. More practical measures such as knife amnesties and legal injunctions have also helped curtail knife crime in the Midlands area, with over 9000 weapons being handed to authorities in 2007. The legal injunctions also play their part, forbidding certain dangerous individuals from entering specific parts of the city.
Speaking with a third year student International Relations student, it seemed that not only was an effective Police strategy needed in reducing crime in the Midlands area, but also common sense.
“The Police can only help to an extent. Having your wits about you at night when walking in the City Centre or even Selly Oak, is something students have to do in order to avoid trouble”
The Police strategy not only in the Midlands, but on a nationwide scale, seems to be focusing on young people and education to prevent the carrying of weapons such as knives, as Inspector Asquith mentioned with the Police’s “tooled up for schools”. A recent Panorama programme on the BBC also aimed to shed some light on the issue of knife crime, focusing on why young people carry weapons. The programme explained how young people involved with knives feel that there are 2 options. Be the victim, or carry a knife. Hearing this, it’s obvious that this sentiment, engrained in so many British youths, must be prevented. The Police are going about it in the right way, starting with education, but this must be in conjunction with more severe prison sentences, not just 2-4 years, in order for the strategy to bear fruit.
It seems the Midlands strategy on knife crime seems to be working, but the rest of the country must follow suit, as the tragic story of a new born child coming into this world without a father, is one I don’t want to read again.
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