Knife carriers 'should be jailed'

Campaigners say stiffer sentences are needed for knife crimes

The government's National Knife Amnesty has come to an end, with thousands of knives, machetes and other sharp instruments having been handed in to police over the past five weeks.

Despite 17,700 weapons being handed in, more than 100 serious or fatal knife attacks were recorded by police during the five-week period, a survey suggests.

Norman Brennan, founder of the Knives Destroys Lives campaign, described the stabbing figures as "totally staggering" and said they showed knife crime was "out of control".

He said: "When you consider that children are being stabbed to death on the streets of Britain, it is long overdue that some serious action needs to be taken.

"Now the government's PR exercise has come to an end, we at the Knives Destroy Lives campaign demand as a matter of urgency that the government introduce mandatory sentencing."

Rapper Witness says the media has frightened young people

He said the police needed to carry out random as well as targeted stop and searches.

And he said anyone convicted of carrying a knife in a public place with a knife should go to prison.

"That would show a true commitment to tackling knife crime," he added.

Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson, Lynne Featherstone MP said knife crime was a serious and growing problem which could not be solved by "occasional knife amnesties".

She demanded stiffer penalties for carrying knives, suggesting a seven-year maximum sentence - equal to that for carrying a gun.

She added: "It is too easy for young people to get hold of knives, so it's essential we crack down on shops that sell knives to children.

"Fundamentally, government, councils, schools and communities must work together to challenge the culture that encourages young people to carry knives."

Media blame

Rapper Witness, who visits schools to help children understand the dangers of carrying knives, said media coverage of knife crime had actually contributed to more young people carrying weapons.

He said children told him hearing about people being stabbed scared them and made them want to carry knives themselves for protection, rather than bin any knives they had.

Witness added: "There's a lot of different reasons why young people carry knives. For bullying, peer pressure, fashion statements, because of the areas they live in."

Explaining the consequences

But Chief Superintendent Gordon Scobbie, of West Midlands Police, told the BBC teenagers were wrong to think carrying a knife made them safer.

"What young people tell us, and I think we have to listen, is that they carry a knife for protection and a lot of that is about the fear of crime.

"It's not about the police going in and telling young people, 'Don't carry a knife,' it's about giving them options.

"It's about explaining the possible consequences of carrying a knife and saying far from being there to protect you, it actually makes you more vulnerable."

Andrew Buckingham, of Victim Support, said the fact that 17,700 knives had been taken off the streets was "encouraging news".

But he added: "There's still lots of other knives out there. They are easily bought and easily replaced.

"Everybody who has ever worked with a victim is in no doubt of the impact that knife crime has on people and those close to them."