Youth and Knife Crime
Everyday when you look down the street you see the local “hoodies” hanging around, up to ‘no good’, people resent them and fear them but how dangerous can they really be?
Well 46% of 15 to 17 year olds say they carry them for self defence, but that still leaves 54% who don’t have a knife for self defence, so what do they use the knife for?
In 2004 a fifth of 15 year olds who committed knife crime were not using knives for self-defence but to attack with the intent to do serious injury. Out of over 9000 children excluded every year 62% were excluded for carrying knives.
The Government think that these 6 points are the main reason for knife crime:
- Low income and poor housing
- Living in deteriorated inner city areas
- A high degree of impulsiveness and hyperactivity
- Low intelligence and low school attainment
- Poor parental supervision and harsh and erratic discipline
- Parental conflict and broken families
The Government have already began giving the police powers but they aren’t addressing the problems, the dispersion power can be used to disperse youths of 3 or more, however attacks with knives can be done by one person or at school where there are not police officers to disperse gangs from fighting and vandalism. The police, teachers and judges need more powers such as to give the police the right to strip search all youths at will. Judges also need to be given powers to send youths down for large prison sentences. Finally teachers should be given the right to search for weapons if that pupil is under suspicion.
In my opinion it is not safe for our children if others continue to carry knives, amnesties work to an extent but not enough is done to control youth crime, there must be stricter and longer sentences if knife crime is ever to be controlled.