Latest knife crime statistics show attacks with blades fell to just over 10000 in last 12 months (2007/8) from about 12000 the year before, a drop of 15.5 per cent. And police are said to be detecting more with 24.5 per cent crimes solved (I assume that's what detection means) compared to 22.9 per cent last year.Fyi - there's plenty of knife crime updates and stories on the BBC site at present. Just type in 'knife crime' search term into the search box.Thing about statistics is that they are only part of the story. Reporting knife crime was significantly less years ago. While giving a statement to Sussex police about the fatal attack I was involved with (click for more details), I remember being surprised when the detective investigating advised me that violent assaults with knives were daily events throughout the county - only the most serious might make the news.
It's mind-boggling to think criminals are using knives to wound, injure and kill on a regular basis, daily, hourly - even every minute(?). Hard to imagine at first that every day someone - or several people - are confident enough to pick up a blade and stick it into another human being. That's the level of depraved mind that needs to be changed somehow.
So - statistics may see knife crime has dropped a little, but many thousands of attacks are certainly not a time to stop or slow campaigning. Renewed efforts, determined focus on getting this figure down to a couple of thousand might be a point to pat backs and say "we're getting there" - even though just one death cannot be justified.
The government's three million pound anti-knife crime advertising push can be viewed from this link on Sky tv's picture gallery to tackle this UK scourge. It uses quite sickening photos of stabbing injuries. If you can bear to look, try to reflect on what you see - when you've seen someone's life ebb away from fatal wounds, you never want anyone else to suffer.
Home Office information about the spread of knife crime. There are a few useful links to check out on this page. Notably, it flags investment in a project called BE SAFE PROJECT - educating young people that knives cost lives.
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Hello,
ReplyDeleteI am a producer with the Discovery Channel's new network, Investigation Discovery, and I wanted to let you know about some cool new features on our Website, which is about true crime, serial killers, investigations and forensics.
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