Star comment: Deterrent needed on knife crime
It is deeply concerning that knife crime in Staffordshire has gone up by 50 per cent over the last two years.
The force has warned that youngsters in particular are carrying knives for their own safety, a decision which puts them at greater risk of getting killed or injured.
One of the tried and tested responses to reducing the number of blades on the streets has been knife amnesties.
These allow people to drop off knives without the fear of facing any further action from the police.
Last year more than 1,100 knives were relinquished during a week long amnesty in Staffordshire, while knife crime in that period was down 18 per cent on the same week in 2015.
This year’s amnesty is due to run next week, but while any moves to reduce the number of knives in public places are to be commended, there is a feeling that we are not getting to the root cause of the problem.
There are no circumstances where people should feel it necessary to carry a knife or other weapon on the streets.
Yet too many people still feel obliged to do just that. This is about far more than gang affiliation or peer pressure.
Indeed, last year West Midlands Police Chief Constable David Thompson said knife use had transcended gang culture, and warned that knives were now being carried as fashion accessories. The real problem lies with the lack of deterrent. If people knew they would face a lengthy sentence behind bars if they were caught with a knife then they might think twice about their actions.
The courts should be ruthless when it comes to dealing with those who are found to have used a knife in an act of violence. Sadly, our criminal justice system is not fit for purpose.
By handing out relatively low sentences for knife crime people are not discouraged from carrying blades in public. In fact, it could be argued that the courts are inadvertently pushing the message that such behaviour is acceptable.There needs to be a proper deterrent that makes people consider the ramifications of their actions before taking to the streets carrying a weapon.
If the authorities are serious about combatting knife crime, then extending sentencing guidelines must be given serious consideration.
