On Monday 8th it was reported that three teenagers were taken to hospital after being stabbed within minutes of each other in north-east London. And Scotland Yard released a statement saying that four arrests were made and the victims’ injuries were not life-threatening.
The key word is life-threatening because unfortunately, not all people make out alive after being stabbed. A knife is becoming the sole reason why death or substantial physical damage is becoming a reality for so many ordinary citizens, young and old.
Knife crime is becoming a national murder crisis thought-out the UK and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
According to the BBC that for every 100,000 people in the capital, there were 168 knife offences in 2017-18, with separate figures, from the mayor's office, showing that young black and minority ethnic teenage boys and men were disproportionately affected, as both victims and perpetrators.
And knife crime tends to be more prevalent in large cities, particularly in London.
And unlike guns, in the UK, knives are so much easier to obtain; you can find knives anywhere be it from the kitchen to the street markets. Knives are one of the most accessible murder weapons and it shows by the numerous stab killings.
But we need to put a stop to this.
The government needs to help put a stop to this.
Although there have been measures put in place to tackle the rising of knife crime. For example, The Ministry of Justice has gradually introduced tougher sentences for the knife crime act. This includes the average prison term for those jailed for carrying a knife or another offensive weapon increasing from almost five months to well over eight months, with 85% serving at least three months, compared with 53% only 10 years ago.
Also there has been more tracking of penalties imposed for those caught carrying knives and other offensive weapons in England and Wales installed.
Then in December 2018, 37% of those dealt with were jailed and a further 18% were given a suspended prison sentence. Over the same period, there's been a gradual decline in the use of community sentences, and a sharp drop in cautions, from 30% to 11%.
Due to moral panic about knife crime, legislative changes and firmer guidance for judges and magistrates have resulted in harsher sentences, although offenders under 18 are still more likely to be cautioned than locked up in prison.
Yet even with these progressive measures, there is still a problem in the UK, so we need to start asking the real questions.
Why is knife crime happening?
Perhaps if we try to answer this question we will finally be able to make a significant difference.
And I am referring to the difference between lowering someone in a casket and keeping someone alive.
We need to look at the most likely perpetrators of knife crime and what immediately comes to mind is young people in street gangs. And you hear more about stabbings happening in gang fights or people being caught in between gang-related violence.
And this proposes other questions we need answering.
Because why are so many young people especially from working class families, seeking refuge in the streets? Feeling like outcasts so that they find sanctuary among the wrong type of friends. Why do they struggle so hard to feel like they belong and fit in with mainstream customs?
We live in an unequal society in which not everyone is going to receive the same educational opportunities, financial or mental health support. We are not helping the matter by closing youth clubs and other public facilities which could help prevent young people turning to the streets, carrying a knife so that they feel protected and using that knife, so that they feel control and power which they don’t usually have because of their unconventional backgrounds.
Instead of protecting our own interests.
We could just work together to end the inequalities between us.
Then a life without knife crime would be possible.
A life without losing our sons, daughters, and friends would be possible.
We need to end the bloodbath.
And finally, put down the knives.
