Posted on 07/04/2008 12:24:01 PM PDT by Republicain
Violent crime has doubled since Labour came to power a decade ago. Stabbings and assault in Britain are now common, if not daily occurrences; at night city centers are generally regarded as no-go areas; “feral” youths and gangs loitering the streets – often drunk on cheap alcohol – make many people too afraid to go for a walk on a summer evening.
Every week yields up plenty of reasons why people have good reason to be scared in modern Britain. On Saturday evening 60-year old Stan Dixon, a former soldier, was attacked by youths, for asking them not to swear in front of a woman. He died yesterday in hospital. 17 teenagers have been murdered in London alone this year. The latest victim, 16 year-old Ben Kinsella, was killed on Sunday night. On Tuesday Dee Willis, a 28 year-old woman, was stabbed to death by a female attacker in south-east London. Today, the country woke up to reports of the extremely brutal and apparently motiveless murder of two French exchange students, Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez (both 23). The two men had been playing computer games at Mr. Bonomo’s apartment in New Cross, south-east London, on Sunday night, when they were attacked, gagged, tortured (suffering nearly 250 stab wounds between them), and their bodies set on fire.
The police are no longer beloved by the public, it is sad to say. Political correctness and bureaucratic paperwork has meant that officers go for soft targets (including such trivial things as allegedly dropping an apple core), while ignoring serious crime, such as burglary. This week, however, there was a brief spark of hope that things were beginning to turn around. Metropolitan police chief Sir Ian Blair and London mayor Boris Johnson held a joint press conference, announcing that over a thousand arrests had been made, and 538 knives confiscated from youths, in a recent police initiative. Yet, a slap in the face to this hard work, and, indeed, to the general public, the Sentencing Guidelines Council has issued new sentencing guidelines that will mean anyone found guilty of possessing a knife will face only a small fine – no deterrent whatsoever.
The British are not known for protesting. But, today, with a lack of faith in the authorities, a grassroots movement against violence is beginning to emerge. Families of victims of violent crime are making themselves visible, and heard. Yesterday a march was led by the sister of Ben Kinsella, in response to his murder, calling for an end to the epidemic of violence.
No surprise. Self-defense is all but illegal in the UK.
At least there’s no such thing as a drive-by stabbing or beating.
Yes, just the more hands-on, neighborly face-to-face stabbings and beatings.
Really builds that sense of community.
Yep no drive-bys they just run by in packs!
Don’t give them any ideas.
It could be done rather easily by riders of bicycles and mopeds.
My brain is incapable of understanding a protest in which people demand less freedom . Maybe they should throw their own knives into the harbor or something .
Next we will be hearing about fork crime, and then, spoon crime.
Yeah, there is. Same way people play “mailbox baseball” from cars.
Only they use knives and cricket bats, and it’s easier for them since they have tighter quarters and higher population density.
A couple of generations ago, this didn't have to be patiently explained to willfully blind, university-indoctrinated public servants - everybody, regardless of political affiliation, knew how the math worked.
The populance was all but disarmed in the 19th Century in return for aneffective, and unarmed police force. The thing worked, however, only so long as the people were willing to abide by the law, and the law was strictly enforced. Where the sovereign fails to uphold his part of the bargain and fails to protect life and property, the system breaks down. The criminal class must have respect for the law, or the law is useless. Even law-biding citizens will do as they please if they law has no teeth.
I suppose that if someone is standing around, and they see a car come up with someone hanging out the window with a bat or knife, and they are too stupid or terror struck to take a couple steps back, then they would suffer from a drive-by stabbing or beating. Not quite the same as getting shot by a passing vehicle that is 10 or 20 yds away.
Given the erratic aims of thugs, a knife is probably more dangerous than a handgun.
Unarmed police used to work when the UK was British and
kids were caned for acting out. Since the end of Empah
and importation of the dregs of the Third World and the
social policies of Labour they’ve lost their way.
When knives are outlawed only outlaws will have knives.
In America we have our share of urban violence but it is generally concentrated in areas besieged by poverty and large minority populations, and much of this violence occurs while participating in other criminal activity. There's something entirely different going on in Britain. "Yobs", "Chavs", "ASBOs" or whatever they are called, are drunken, largely white youths who have taken to beating people to death for sport, often with little reason or provocation at all.
Right. It's the way cowardly and self centered bureaucracies operate. Go for the "low hanging fruit" rather than offend the offenders.
Wow. Good thing they got those guns off the street. /s
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