Knife Crime

Recent fatal stabbings involving school children have put the issue of carrying knives firmly back in the headlines with the end of knife cautions. Now, anyone over the age of 16 caught in possession of a knife can expect to be prosecuted on the first offence.

For years, legislation to tackle the growing problem of knife crime has challenged many politicians and governments.

The Criminal Justice Act in 1988 made carrying a blade or point in a public place without good reason a criminal offence with maximum penalty of two years in prison. Folding pocket knives with blades of less than 3 inches were made exempt from the legislation.

The CJ Act also created an offence of having a knife or bladed weapon at school with a maximum sentence of four years.

In 1996 the CJ Act was updated with The Offensive Weapons Act of 1996 and this outlawed the sale of knives and other bladed items to under-16s with penalties of up to 6 months in jail for those ignoring the legislation.

To tackle knife crime in Schools, the Government has recently brought out the Education and Inspections Bill. This new legislation empowers schools with the ability to nominate (trained) staff members to carry out hands-on searches without a student's prior consent.

Other legislation includes the Knives Act 1997, which creates offences relating to the marketing of knives in a manner to encourage violent behaviour, or as combat weapons.

Police also have the power to stop and search suspects (Criminal Justice and Public Order Act).

In London, A huge police operation has been launched after several young people were killed in attacks involving knives.

Scotland Yard is calling the knife sweep Operation Blunt 2, and it involves stop-and-search teams in boroughs across the capital.

The initial Operation Blunt plans were enforced in November 2004 across 12 London boroughs by the Metropolitan police. According to Met figures, the scheme saw a reduction in the number of knife-enabled offences in the immediate aftermath of its launch. As a result of this success, Operation Blunt was rolled out across 32 boroughs in December 2005, marking the first time that every London borough had simultaneously targeted knife crime.

The tactics used by the scheme included educational programmes, knife search operations using metal detector arches and also 'dispersal zones' where police officers were given the power to search in designated areas. There was an increase in high-visibility policing as well as test purchases – where shops were checked to ensure they were not selling knives illegally.

The operation also worked collaboratively with the British Transport police and Transport for London to stop people travelling on public transport with offensive weapons.

In May this year, the Met launched Operation Blunt 2, another high-profile initiative to tackle knife crime – again using special stop and search powers in high-risk areas and airport-style metal detectors. The home secretary, Jacqui Smith, announced a £5m package to tackle violent crime. Since then, 55,000 people have been searched, 2,500 arrested and 1,600 knives seized. Of those arrested, 95% have since been charged with weapons offences, the Met said.

The Home Secretary welcomed the operation, saying, 'I am determined to stamp out knife crime, wherever it occurs.

'By extending the presumption to prosecute people carrying knives, the Met is already taking firm action in London, where knife-enabled crime has dropped by 16% in the last year. But every incident is one too many.'

She said police and neighbourhood policing teams throughout London were working closely with local residents to deal with violent crime, and that sort of approach should ideally be adopted nationally.

The manufacture, sale and importation of 17 bladed, pointed and other offensive weapons, in addition to flick knives and gravity knives is also banned.

The government demonstrated how seriously it views knife possession when it doubled the maximum sentence for the offence. Those convicted of carrying an illegal knife now face four years in jail, rather than two.

It's clear that there's an ongoing trend for teenagers to carry knives, either to protect themselves or for street credibility. And carrying a knife makes it much more likely that a knife will be used in a moment of anger.

While overall knife crime has declined, high-profile cases make it apparent that the issue is not resolved, particularly among teenagers in urban areas.

Young people must educated in the risks of carrying knives. They need to know that knives are not defensive weapons, and that any knife you carry can easily be used against you.

The Home Secretary announced that "We will increase the maximum sentence for carrying a knife in public without good reason from two to four years, to give a clear message that knife carrying is a serious matter which can attract a long custodial sentence."

The Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Ian Blair says a mandatory prison sentence for carrying a concealed blade is required to tackle a worsening culture of knife crime while shadow home secretary David Davis says the government needs to back up "tough talk on tackling knife crime".

"We believe there must be tougher sentences for people carrying knives," he argued.

Despite this, Metropolitan Police figures show that the number of victims of knife crime have been going down.

In the year to March 2008, there were 10,220 such crimes, compared with 12,124 for the previous year - a reduction of 15.7%.

But the number of 11 to 18-year-olds attacked with knives between April and July 2006 rose by 4.5% compared with the same period in 2005.

Last year 27 teenagers in London met violent deaths, compared with 17 in 2006 and 15 in 2005

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