Mandatory jail sentence for carrying a knife edges closer

Published on Saturday 12 July 2008 19:43

A MANDATORY jail sentence for carrying a knife could soon be introduced across Britain under plans by both the UK and Scottish Governments to crack down on a spate of random attacks in recent weeks.

Gordon Brown has declared that ministers should take "any legislative measures" necessary to tackle knife crime, arguing that anyone over 16 caught with an illegal knife should be prosecuted.

He follows Alex Salmond, who said last week that an automatic jail sentence for possession of a knife will be considered in Scotland as part of a criminal justice bill to be unveiled later this year.

With Tory leader David Cameron also demanding that there should be a "presumption" of jail for carrying a knife, the path now looks clear for a UK-wide crackdown on so-called "blade culture".

The moves come after a number of fatal and random attacks in recent weeks. Four men were stabbed to death in the same 24-hour period in London last week. Brown said: "The terrible stabbings that have occurred this week are shocking and tragic. We will continue to make absolutely clear that carrying a knife is unacceptable in our society."

In Scotland, ministers are under pressure to act, following the murder of Damian Muir, 34, who was stabbed to death last July in Greenock by a man on bail for four crimes, including two knife offences.

His family have lodged a petition with the Scottish Government, signed by 15,000 people, for a mandatory jail term.

Brown will unveil his own measures for England and Wales tomorrow, focusing on teenage men. The action plan, worked up over several months, will involve "parenting programmes targeted on areas with the most problems," he said last week.

Parents in England and Wales whose children behave badly will be put under more pressure to intervene.

North of the border, the Scottish Government is planning to set new national sentencing guidelines – overseen by a sentencing council – to ensure the judiciary are consistent.

A spokesman said yesterday: "Knife crime has blighted Scotland's communities for far too long and we are determined to tackle it.

"We will come forward with detailed proposals in the near future in the context of our proposed criminal justice bill."

At the Bite the Bullet conference in Brixton, south London, yesterday, the Rev Les Isaac said many young people felt they were "victims of their own circumstances".

He said youngsters were beset by family and community breakdown, negative peer pressure and an education system that failed to provide many students with the right opportunities.

Rev Isaac, of the Ascension Trust, an organisation that sends "street pastors" out on to the streets to work with young offenders, said: "Young people are angry. They are confused. They feel a tremendous sense of hopelessness.

"If we could go out and say to young people, 'you are worth something, we love you, we want to help', young people will look at their lifestyle and begin to rethink what they are doing."

The former north-London gang leader warned that the culture of knife crime could take 15 years to turn around.