What’s to be done about rising use of weapons?

Hollie Cowan and Mike Laycock examine the crisis and ask whether it is as much of a problem in North Yorkshire as the big cities.

A BOY of 14 has become the latest knife crime statistic after being stabbed to death by a gang in London. David Odowu is the 19th teenager to die violently in the capital so far this year.

York and North Yorkshire have also seen some shocking stabbing incidents in recent times, including one in York and another in Malton.

But is North Yorkshire on a downward spiral in the same way as London? The latest statistics from North Yorkshire Police appear to indicate not. They show that in 2006/07, there were 244 knife crimes recorded in the county, while in 2007/08, there were 214 – a decline of 30.

Conservative leader David Cameron has called for anyone caught carrying a knife to be jailed.

But York MP Hugh Bayley, while supporting tougher action, said the problem with mandatory sentences was that, for example, a painter and decorator could be jailed for taking a Stanley knife with him on his way to a job.

He said he had successfully pressed in the past for restrictions in the sale of knives and also Samurai swords.

Another local politician who backs the Government’s stance has good cause to take a keen interest in the way the law deals with street criminals – she was a victim herself.

Claire Hazelgrove, a second-year politics student at the University of York, who will be Labour’s candidate for Skipton and Ripon at the next General Election, said: “My housemate and I were attacked – both punched in the face and head – walking down Melrosegate to university in October by a girl who was no more than 17 years old,” she said. “We were quickly surrounded by a few others as well. Thankfully, she didn’t have a knife, but we weren’t to know that at the time.

“We reported the assault, but no one should be put in fear walking around. That’s why I support the measures – they don’t criminalise young people but in fact protect the majority of us.

“The move to bring in a presumption of prosecution for all those 16 or over carrying knife is a positive move. I feel that these measures will actually help to protect vulnerable members of society from those carrying knives.”

Coun Keith Orrell, a Liberal Democrat representative of City of York Council on the North Yorkshire Police Authority, said that while there had been isolated incidents in this area, the serious incidents did appear to be predominantly in the London area.

“This does not mean that we can afford to be complacent,” he said. “As with all aspects of crime, neighbourhood policing played a vital role in combating and deterring it. This involves not only the police and PCSOs (Community Support Officers), but also youth workers, schools, local community leaders and the Safer York Partnership.”

He said he had always believed that violent crime of any kind should result in the most severe sentences. “But we should not be under any illusion that people who carry and use knives or guns will know or care what sentences they may face. In the end, it will come down to effective policing.”

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman insisted the Government took tackling knife crime very seriously. “One knife crime is one too many,” she said. “It is crucial that public have confidence in sentencing, particularly around this critical issue.”

She said significant changes had already been made. “A presumption to prosecute has been introduced, the age at which someone can be sold a knife has been raised from 16 to 18, and the maximum sentence for carrying a knife has doubled to four years.”

He also pointed out that people who are prosecuted for carrying a knife are now almost three times as likely to go to prison as in 1997, and for a third longer.

* The current law on knife possession:
Since February 2007, when the Violent Crime Reduction Act came into force, the maximum sentence for possession of a knife has been four years. Previously, since 1988, it had been two years.