Another knife crime!

It is very saddening and maddening to see stories in the press from this town for all the wrong reasons, yesterday evening a 16 year old youth was knifed to death in what looks like a premeditated attack in East Avenue, South Shields. The young man was out celebrating his birthday just shortly after receiving his exam results when he was assailed by the occupants of a car and stabbed many times. He died on his way to the local hospital.

I have argued before in this blog that the typical reaction of offering a knife amnesty (or a gun amnesty) is a waste of time and effort, those who wish to carry on living outside of the law will not heed the call to give up their weapons. Our politicians need to start seriously thinking NOW about the following;

• A minimum sentence of five years imprisonment for carrying a knife in a public place, a minimum sentence of ten years for the illegal carrying of a firearm (whether or not it is discharged in the commission of a crime.)
• The closure of the U.K.'s borders and the establishment of a strong body of border police - the time to talk about this is past, it's time that Tony Blair acted on his words, these measures would make a big dent in the supply of blades, guns, and other weaponry from abroad.
• Further increases in police manpower, with the emphasis on community policing.
• The building of additional prisons.
• The reform of the prison system to allow open prisons to accept inmates on the final three months of their sentence only!
• The FULLEST possible co-operation between local police forces and local councils in countering anti-social behaviour and criminality in young people.

Labour has so far signally failed to make any inroads against the criminal elements in our society and cannot, at present, make any claims to have improved the safety and comfort of our citizens out on the streets. This was one of the biggest promises in their manifestoes of the last couple of elections, yet we still have a Home Office "not fit for purpose". Crime is one of the few areas where Labour has consistently failed to achieve the confidence of the electorate, if Tony Blair seriously wishes to leave a "legacy" behind him, this is one area where perhaps he could make a difference. However, without an iron will and a real purpose, he will achieve little, and time is running out on the streets.

Link

The Shields Gazette

Update - the victim has been named as 16 year old Glen Corner of Wakefield Drive, South Shields