[KingSnorky]

No surprise. Self-defense is all but illegal in the UK.

[stuartcr]

At least there’s no such thing as a drive-by stabbing or beating.

[kbennkc]

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 .

[Alouette]

Next we will be hearing about fork crime, and then, spoon crime.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Government can't stop it. The only thing that can is the perpetrators becoming so afraid of citizen retaliation that they trim their sails. It would take no more than four, maybe five well-publicized and accurate head shots by armed citizens over a period of a week or so. A small price to pay when set against the number of dead and wounded piling up due to continuing street violence.

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.

[GravityFree]

They'll probably just outlaw knives, edged weapons, and other sharp object. Youthful offenders will be put into a diversion program of picking up rocks and small pebbles making them unavailable for unlawful purposes.

[cquiggy]

When knives are outlawed only outlaws will have knives.

[ari-freedom]

Well, they obviously need to ban knives. They are so violent.

[Drew68]

“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.

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.

[Gritty]

Political correctness and bureaucratic paperwork has meant that officers go for soft targets...

Right. It's the way cowardly and self centered bureaucracies operate. Go for the "low hanging fruit" rather than offend the offenders.

[Liberty Valance]

Wow. Good thing they got those guns off the street. /s

[agere_contra]

Another article which conflates “Britain” with “London”.

I live in Birmingham UK and have never been worried. London however is like Detroit, New York, Babylon and Ancient Rome all at once.

[Travis McGee]

This is how it works in a free country, where self-defense is not illegal. (Well, exluding a few states like NY and IL)

Gee, for some reason, these knife crimes are not so common in Florida, Texas etc.

[Tribune7]

I wonder if you can carry a firearm in the U.K. if you cite Sharia law. Assuming you are a male with a beard whose toilet doesn’t face Mecca of course.

[1066AD]

And another.

Maybe if the punishment fit the crime it might act as a deterrent, it's not the knives, it's the mindset that this behaviour is somehow "cool" that's the problem.

I remember when a single murder there was real front page news, how standards have fallen now.

[rawcatslyentist]

Looks like a prime time to set up a chain mail shop!

[ChessExpert]

The primary, some say only, role of government is to protect people from violence. Since the police can not be everywhere, the historical meaning of protection is that the government will apprehend and severely punish violent people. The government of lesser britain has taken on so many ancillary roles, that it can no longer perform its primary duty. Their government has failed completely.

[ChessExpert]

“Violent crime has doubled since Labour came to power a decade ago.”

According to liberals the only causes of crime are “poverty” and/or “demographics.” Rudy Giuliani became mayor, was tough on crime, and the murder rate fell dramatically. “Demographics” they say - without offering any specifics. Liberals claim that crime can not be deterred. Liberal thinking on this matter is consistent with their thinking in general: incentives don’t matter. Of course, they are wrong. Incentives affect human behavior greatly.

[Grizzled Bear]

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.

Sounds like they used "A Clockwork Orange" as a blueprint instead of a warning.

"Viddy well, little brother. Viddy well."