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My quick, cheap way to deal with knife offenders
REDUCTION in carrying street knives necessitates psycho-social and cultural remedies over a generation, not done on the cheap. Yet we Londoners cannot wait for such “soft” long-term policies to bear fruit. We simultaneously need a tough deterrent right now to save lives.
Solution: a special padded cell just three metres by one metre by three metres and lock up miscreants in strictly solitary confinement for seven days (no TV, no radio, no mobile, no distraction of any kind, just toilet, bread and water). The offender considers his future in his own isolated boredom and the tariff is doubled for each re-offence.
Quick, cheap, no proper prison place taken and seriously tedious! Plus word gets round to his chums. Thus priority is given to the “human rights” of potential knife-blade victims, and not to the criminal as at present.
STEPHEN BURROWS
Tremlett Grove, N19
THE public meeting where the Kinsella family spoke about their ideas for a national day against knife crime was a good opportunity for local people to put forward their ideas on a safer neighbourhood.
People talked about better policing, more stop-and-search and the use of wands and knife arches. People talked about better responses from schools and better parenting. What struck me was where this conversation took place. Lumpy Hill Adventure Playground was a great venue to hold the public meeting because it is in the heart of the community. It was clean and tidy and the youth staff there welcomed everyone in.
However, I thought the adventure playground was rundown. This is one of the few venues in Islington where kids can come for free. Many after-school activities are no longer free. Our youngsters deserve better facilities with a proper budget for maintaining them. Play activities are only one part of making a better place for youth to grow up in, but it’s a start. I hope next time I go to Lumpy Hill the council will have provided a bit more cash so it can be better looked after.
Cllr Catherine West
Leader Labour group, Islington Council
I FIND MP Emily Thornberry’s use of the unfortunate deaths of young knife victims opportunistic and indeed ghoulish. The use of a dead boy’s photograph compounds the offensiveness of her action. I am disgusted. My sons are in shock, especially as they knew the Kinsella family. Their shock has turned to anger at the MP’s action.
The “Put Down Your Knives” poster is a joke. It will certainly raise a laugh with the thugs. Some years back I placed a neighbourhood watch notice in my window. A gang came along and smashed the window with glee. The same thing would happen if I put this poster in my window. The gangs that roam this neighbourhood would have a field day.
What we want is a police force which has the power and the time to act. We want them to respond immediately to calls when we report a street crime. Why are gangs not dispersed or, better still, taken into custody and charged with a breach of the peace, for starters. There is plenty of legislation under which they may be charged. This politically correct, pussy-footing around has to stop. Thugs have to be taken off our streets and punished by the heavy hand of the law. Otherwise law-abiding subjects have no protection. Now put that in your window!
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ON Saturday I spent an evening in Upper Street, near Angel. It was crowded and busy, but I did not spot one policeman all night.
I cannot remember the last time I saw a policeman walking the beat, not including the now obligatory police stationed outside schools at the end of the day. A more visible police presence could help some of the problems we face with kids in gangs.
AC
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