Teach Knife Crime Teens Useful Skills In Hospital
KNIFE crime is big news. A knife features on the cover of the Scotsman, the Mirror and the Mail.
In “KNIVES TSAR IN CALL FOR NATIONAL SERVICE”, the Daily Mail speaks with “Police chief” Alf Hitchcock, a Scotland Yard Deputy Assistant Commissioner appointed by the Home Secretary to head a new national anti-knife crime programme.
He tells us:
“Most kids are not beyond the pale. Most kids are decent young people. We have let them down. Now it’s time to give them the hope they deserve.”
With that cleared up, Hitchcock advocates a non-military “national service”, what used to be called community service. Although the Mail hears: “Send jobless youths on national service, says Britain’s new knife crime tsar.”
Anorak readers will doubtless recall David Cameron’s interest in introducing a scheme wherein the kidz would devote their summer holiday to “patriotic” duties. “North and south, black and white, rich and poor,” said Cameron, adopting Del Boy Trotter’s common touch, “They will be putting something back into the community”.
Hitchcock’s plan to employ the yoof is nothing new; neither is Jacquie Smith’s brainwave to make youngsters caught carrying blades go to hospital to see the effect of knife attacks. And it’s not all the clever:
The Royal College of Surgeons said the plan was ‘distasteful’ and ‘morally, ethically and legally suspect’.
So what else could we do with these knifers? The Independent might knows, as it’s front-page headline says: “Litany of surgical blunders revealed – More than one operation a month is on wrong site.”
Perhaps when in hospital our teenage tearaways could be invited to put their knife skills to more productive use, or get a job in a kebab shop..?
Posted: 14th, July 2008 | In: Broadsheets, Police Log, Tabloids Comments (4) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
July 15th, 2008 at 9:39 am
3
Caroline Says:
July 14th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
I’m guessing you’re advocating bringing back corporal punishment
you guess wrong, Caroline - I am advocating bringing back discipline and respect for others, which is completely lacking in today’s society. When I was at school, we feared our teachers and respected them as well, not because they beat the living daylights out of us, but because they told us what the rules were and what would happen if we broke them. These days, teachers are not even allowed to grab some little oik by the arm before he’s screaming about assault and his human rights!!!
it’s fundamentally wrong that the kids should have the upper hand, because all it leads to is chaos and lack of education.
which brings me to your point about contraception - if a woman has difficulty in understanding that she has to take a pill every day for contraception, then there is something seriously wrong there!!! how would you make it easier for her…? the only way would be so she didn’t have to think about it and then we go down the route towards sterilisation…?
there were plenty of kids growing up 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago who had nothing and who were abused at home - just as bad as the kids today, but they didn’t turn into knife-wielding thugs intimidating (and even killing) people objecting to their antisocial behaviour.
people make their own choices in life - you can choose to carry a knife or you can choose not to - to make it sound as if it isn’t their fault is pandering to them in the worst possible way.
July 14th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
I’m guessing you’re advocating bringing back corporal punishment. Bring backthe cane and all you teach children is fear and submission. We should be breeding leaders not servile cowards.
I am from this knife wielding generation, I’ve never been caned or abused in any such way and I consider myself to be a valuable member of society.
These kids need to feel valuable too. Women need better access to contraception (the kind they can understand - the pill isn’t working) so that some of these unwanted, street scoundrels aren’t born into a life of abuse and neglect in the first place.
And for those for whom it is too late, I agree that they need to be brought back into the community, they need futures with more promise than the minimum wage. Why work your fingers to the bone for £5 an hour when you can get £500 for a two minute job?
Better education, less discrimination and more opportunities - it shouldn’t matter who your father is, it should matter who you are.
July 14th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
kids need parameters and discipline - give the teachers back their powers to discipline and (if need be) punish, as well as educate and then at least we won’t breed yet another generation of mindless out-of-control morons….
July 14th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Bring back Borstal and sort the buggers out properly. A nice Finishing School aka gaol for repeat offenders