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Is there an answer?
The $64,000 question!
So, how do we combat this area of crime? Although it has been shown here that the perceived problem of ‘Knife crime’ is far from accurate, it remains true that there is still a problem. No matter how rare incidents are, every time an act of violence is perpetrated against another it should be condemned and the criminal responsible should have the full force of the law brought to bear, and the penalties of committing such crimes should be proportionate and fitting to the crime.
But, it is not the remit of the AKCT to solve the problem of crime. This is for Government, the Police and relevant agencies resolve. It is our purpose however, to work with Government and local authorities to ensure that any legislation, initiatives or policies are well informed, well reasoned and have a firm footing upon which a successful approach can be taken to reducing crime. Basing policy on mis-information, guess work and assumption is destined not only to fail, but to reduce confidence in future initiatives which suffer a perception of failure by association.
Perhaps what we need to do first of all is rethink our terminology. When an addict uses a drug for illegal purposes, it is referred to as ‘Drug abuse’, yet when a knife is misused for illegal purposes it is called ‘knife crime’. Why not ‘Knife abuse’? This terminology has succeeded only in demonising bladed tools, making them the focus of attention and the perceived cause of the crime. This only serves to absolve the individual criminal of responsibility. There needs to be a definite shift in focus from blaming the tool to punishing the criminal.
As has been proven many times over, when an item is banned or forbidden it becomes more enticing to some people - just as an ASBO has become a badge of honour to many, so to would a banned knife or sword become a valuable symbol of honour and respect to a criminal in much the same was as handguns have done so.
It is only through effective education and sensible policy making can we hope to have any lasting effect. Once the knife is reclaimed as the everyday tool it is - once it is no longer a symbol of fear or violence, it’s value to the criminal will be diminished.
One thing we can be sure of above all else - bans and restrictions are ineffective and give a false and fleeting sense of security to the public. Initiatives like the recent Knife amnesty serve to do nothing more than make good headlines as the following extract from report by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, Kings College, London - 2007 ‘Knife Crime - A review of Evidence and Policy’
“Assuming that there are approximately 22 million households in England and Wales, each possessing a single kitchen knife, the amnesty has been successful in removing 0.0041 per cent of knives that might be used in crimes. Of course, most households contain many more than a single knife and it is barely worth considering the tens of thousands sitting in shops waiting to be purchased. As such, it is at best questionable whether this will result in a reduction in knife carrying and knife-related offences.”
As the majority of knife crime is perpetrated using domestic knives, and as the majority of these knives are taken from the kitchen drawer at home it becomes clear that restrictions and bans are ineffective. During an amnesty are we really to believe a criminal would be inclined to hand in a knife having seen the error of his ways and lead a virtuous life from that day forward?
Education is the key - of course there are many other factors involved which influence the prevalence of violent crime as a whole but if we take the time to reintroduce the concept of personal responsibility then we will make great gains in tackling this situation.
We also need better recording of these crimes - again from the King’s College report ‘Knife Crime - A review of Evidence and Policy’
“This area still suffers from a lack of useful, specific, reliable, longitudinal research on the nature, extent, cause, motivation, frequency and possible growth of knife carrying.”
From 2007 some more detailed recording of crime has been initiated, but yet more needs to be done. It is difficult to understand how anyone hopes to solve a problem where the “nature, extent, cause, motivation, frequency and possible growth” of the problem are total unknowns?
We do not claim to have all the answers. But we do know that without a fundamental change in mind-set, all efforts to combat this problem will fail.
© Mike Lee 2008
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