Britain's Knife Problems

The Daily Mail is reporting some disturbing data regarding the number and extent of knife crimes in Britain. Statistics indicate that 22,151 knife and sharp instrument crimes were committed during the accounting year ending March 2008 -- not including fatal stabbings which are counted separately by the Home Office.

According to the President of the Police Superintendents' Association, Ian Johnston,

'The public needs to understand this is not just a London or inner-city problem. It is a serious problem all over the country. [...]

'There is now a need for radical, short-term solutions. Serious consideration should be given to the idea of introducing a minimum prison sentence for carrying a knife. I believe this would have a dramatic impact.'

Lock up knife-wielding criminals! That's a smashing idea. Unfortunately, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith thinks the idea is too simple a solution. Smith is against putting knife criminals in jail.

Meanwhile and complicating law enforcement's problems, a deadly exploding-tip knife has been invented and police fear it will soon show up in Britain.

Senior police officers have been warned to look out for a new knife which can inject a ball of compressed gas into its victim that instantly freezes internal organs.

The 'wasp knife', which can deliver a ball of compressed gas capable of killing its victim at the press of a button, may be heading for Britain, the Metropolitan Police fear.

A needle in the tip of the blade shoots out the frozen ball of gas which instantly balloons to the size of a basketball, freezing organs.

The WASP knife is designed as a defensive weapon for use on sharks and bears but it can kill just about anything. It produces a large volume of gas which balloons outward from the injection site and freezes all adjacent tissues and organs. Lovely.


[Update]

From the New York Times, we get this promise from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The prime minister also said the government would intervene directly with as many as 20,000 families whose children were considered at risk of turning to violence because “the mother or father have lost control of their children and their whole life is actually in difficulty.”

Parents who refused to accept the government intervention, he said, would be threatened with eviction from their homes.

So, it appears that as many as 20,000 families will be taken over by the government.

Tip: slwlion

Also: Jawa Report