Knife Crime in UK - Solution?

john12 · Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 7:44 am Post subject: Knife Crime in UK - Solution?

Simple,

Caught carrying a knife - 10 years, no parole;
Use knife injuring other - 20 years, no parole;
Use knife killing other - Life, no parole and life meaning life. You only get out in a coffin.

And not in one of these soft jails where they have TV's, Playstations, pool tables and 3 course meals. Why not create a prison on some remote island where its freezing cold and the cells are basic bed, loo and sink.

The solitary cell in 'Papillion' would be a good starting point.

Agree or disagree?

DanMc · Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 10:46 am Post subject:

Will they get to read your copy of the Daily Mail when you've finished with it? Wink

john12 · Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 1:58 pm Post subject:

Nah, they'll have to be satisfied with the Telegraph. Very Happy

They could get a treat and read Richard Littlejohn on a Tuesday and Friday. Wink

Guest · Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 3:05 pm Post subject:

kin L sleepy2 - thats Liverpool all but empty then. Sure if u did some ancestry checking u'll find a touch of the tar brush in u too.

ccd · You Go Girl (100+ Posts) Joined: 15 Nov 2007 Posts: 194

We certainly need to get rather more medieval when it comes to things like knives. We've tried touchy feely and it hasn't worked so now I think anyone caught with a knife needs to be locked up. Trouble is, that's quite expensive - are we prepared to shoulder the burdon of building new jails etc?

Guest · Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 1:18 pm Post subject:

build the jails

zero tolerance

time given served in full & hard labour - no perks as of now.

They won't reoffend after that

honbuns · Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 9:43 am Post subject:

Only 1 major problem and that is the cost, I seem to remember seeing a quote that it costs something like £70k per year to keep someone in prison, that is not taking into account the cost of building the thousands of extra spaces that would be required.

Guest · Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 11:54 am Post subject:

cost wud be considerably reduced if they did a real job & prison charged for it

Ady6970 · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 6:18 pm Post subject:

It's my view that people who aren't particular about carrying knives are unlikely to be bothered by the prospect of a year or two in prison. The only real deterrent would be to reintroduce capital punishment - in defiance of Europe if need be - and make the unauthorised possesion and public carrying of an offensive weapon, a capital offence.

Ming · Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 12:53 pm Post subject:

Ady6970 · Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 7:08 pm Post subject:

I think you misread my "enthusiasm" for the death penalty a little. It's certainly true that if I were Home Secretary I would take an active interest in reinstating it for murder. However the point I was making in relation to knives was that somebody who isn't particular about carrying a weapon in public is unlikely to be troubled by the prospect of a year or two in prison. If knives are to be taken off the streets - and we've had far too many young lives destroyed in this country (the UK) this year alone as a result of knife crime - something rather more drastic than prison is needed as a punishment. Maybe the realistic solution would be some kind of enforced military training in boot camps - but that's only a suggestion.

Ming · Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 9:04 am Post subject:

Ady6970 · Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 8:03 pm Post subject:

Ming, you won't be surprised to learn that I disagree. Boot camps run by ex army officers would do a great deal to prevent and deter offending that ordinary modern prisons can't. Firstly they would provide a tough regime which casual offenders wouldn't want to experience again in a hurry. Secondly they would provide a framework within which offenders had to experience the realities of teamwork and hopefully gain both self respect and respect for others. Finally, those who completed their boot camp sentences satisfactorily could be given the opportunity to train for the regular armed services if they so wished, thereby giving something back to their country and having the chance to earn some decent money into the bargain.

Ming · Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 9:06 pm Post subject:

Ady6970 · Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 10:36 am Post subject:

Thanks Ming. I think there are a couple of points that need to be borne in mind though. The vast majority of offenders are under thirty and in many cases haven't experienced proper discipline or boundaries either at home or at school, simply because the good old fashioned discipline which kept people largely on the straight and narrow in the past became unfashionable in the Seventies and much of it's been curtailed by law since. Consequently a generation has grown up without proper boundaries or consequences to fear if those boundaries are crossed. Result, overcrowded prisons which can't do their job properly. Boot camps would give offenders a taste of the real discipline they've not had earlier on in life and teach them respect not only for other people but for themselves. Military training could be combined with hard, productive work and an element of compulsory schooling - including Maths on a Monday morning.