DISARMING BRITAIN

Source: www.speakup.com.br

KNIFE CRIME

DISARMING BRITAIN

      Since 2004 Britain has witnessed art increase in violent crime involving Young people. And there has been a particular rise in the number of victims killed by knives.

      This phenomenon has caught the attention of both the media an the authorities. In 2006 the London Metropolitan Police launched “Operation Blunt” as part of a long term strategy to tackle knife crime. Much of the works is preventive: examples include advertising campaigns, better patrolling by the procedures and metal detectors.

      Local London boroughs are also working with schools. Kensington and Chelsea, for example, launched “Operation Sabre.” Children were invited to design a poster to be used on bus routes. The operation also included six “knife surrender him. “which were placed at locations throughout the borough. As a result, 139 knives were collected. Most were kitchen knives, but there was an assortment of more lethal weapons, including a machete.

      A BIG MISTAKE

      According to a survey conducted in 2004, most young people carry knives thinking that they can use them for protection. Yet research has shown that it is more likely that an assailant will seize your knife and use it against you.

      Much of the campaigning against knife crime is led by people who have lost friends or family member. Londoner Alexander Rose is a case in point. He was still a teenager in 2006 when a 16-year-old friend was stabled to death. He launched a campaign called “STOP” (“Solve This Ongoing Problem”) which is supported by Battlefront.co.uk, an online network run by Channel 4.

      As part of the campaign to educate people about the danger of carrying blades, hundreds of knives seized by police were melted down and forged into pendants engraved with the words “This used to be a knife.”

      2006 was also the year that Ann Oakes Odger decided to found the charity Knife Crime.Org (www.knifecrime.org). This was after her 27-year-old son Westley had been stabbed to death, following an argument at a cash machine in colchester. Ann started a campaign to change the law. And it has worked: the sentence for adults who murder someone with a knife has been raised from 15 to 25 years.

      THE ART OF EDUCATION

      And some of the campaigns have been set up by the victims of knife crime. Oliver Hemsley, for example, is a 21-year-old art student who is now in a wheelchair after an unprovoked attack. Oliver decided to live and launched a social initiative called Art Against Knives. This London-based charity works on the roots of the problem by offering young people a creative alternative to violent gang culture. For more, visit www.artaginstknives.com .