KNIFE CRIME OUT OF CONTROL

the holiday was supposed to be a happy and innocent occasion. But it could have turned into carnage if police had not screened 7,000 people arriving at the town’s railway station to join the celebration.

The police action was carried out as the number of stabbings in the country went up dramatically within the past few weeks. In one incident, a student was knifed to death as he tried to protect a woman passenger on a cross-country train near the Lake district. And in Bristol, a father of three, in his 20s, was stabbed to death early one morning.

Also in Bristol, a boy of 17 was stabbed to death. And in Birming-ham, a 26-year-old father was killed in a knife attack after an argument outside a nightclub. In Nottingham, another 26-year-old was left fighting for his life after he was stabbed in the back while attempting to save a woman from being beaten up.

In London, a 32-year-old fitness instructor was stabbed on a bus in Kilburn after asking a gang of youths to stop smoking marijuana. And in Finsbury Park, North London, a 22-year-old man was attacked with a blade after a row outside a 24-hour convenience store. There have been dozens of other similar incidents but I think you get the picture.

So, why this increase in knife crime? No doubt, there are many reasons. One reason is that, despite strict laws designed to control the sale of knives, buying one is still quite easy. In a test operation, horrified trading standards officers watched as a 12-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl were able to buy more than a dozen knives during a two-hour shopping spree.

The minimum age at which sharp blades can be bought legally is 16. But this pair could not have passed for 16. Yet, four out of the 14 shops they approached were happy to sell them these dangerous weapons. The operation took place in Slough, not far from Heathrow airport, but it could probably be replicated in any town or city in the country.

It makes a mockery of a government-led knife amnesty which is being used to highlight and tackle the frightening rise in knife crime, not least among juvenile offenders. And it shows the uphill struggle faced by the authorities as they try to cut off the supply of potentially deadly blades to lawless youths.

In the undercover operation in Slough, one-third of the shops tested did not ask the children for identification or proof of age. The two were able to walk out with a nine-inch carving knife, another of eight inches, an eight-inch bread knife and a ten-piece knife set. Shop-keepers flouted the rules openly.

Trading standards officers also carried out test purchases of knives in Buckinghamshire, using 14-year-olds who managed to buy three kitchen knives with ease. One shopkeeper had to retrieve a knife from a locked cupboard but still sold it to the child.

Trading standards officer Dean Cooke said he was utterly disgusted with the results, which he claimed were a snapshot of the UK’s problems. He added, “We are appalled that some traders still think it is acceptable to sell knives to children. In the current climate, it is vitally important that they stick to the right side of the law.”

As for knife crime itself, the government seems confused as to what action to take. Home Secretary John Reid was reported to be considering automatic jail sentences of up to five years for thugs who carry blades. But his officials seem to be in full retreat, saying that this idea has been “completely overblown.”.

Dr Reid himself, as Defence Secretary not so long ago, voted against tougher sentences when this was tabled by the opposition as an amendment to the Violent Crime Reduction Bill. Home Office officials are believed to be afraid that jailing thousands of knife offenders could swamp already overcrowded prisons.

In the meantime, the amnesty appears to be yielding some results. A terrifying double-bladed knife is just one of thousands handed in at police stations around the country during the first weeks of the national amnesty. With two razor-sharp blades, the knife is designed to inflict the maximum amount of damage.

Officers in Folkstone, Kent, who received the weapon, said they were relieved it was now off the streets where it could end up causing terrible injury or death in the wrong hands. Other horrific weapons handed in to officers in Kent include a three-foot samurai sword, a lethal Bowie knife with a 14-inch blade and an axe with a spiked head.

Police are so far pleased with the response to the amnesty which continues till the end of this month. However, safety campaigners say it does not go far enough. Latest figures show that almost a third of the 858 violent deaths last year involved a sharp instrument, as the knife became the most commonly-used murder weapon.

British Transport Police have started screening railway passengers for knives, as they did for the Luton carnival. They now have 15 mobile screening units, four of which were used at Luton. They are also particularly interested in school children, especially since figures from the Youth Justice Board show that up to 300,000 pupils regularly take knives into class.

At the beginning of this month, the Times newspaper published some advice on what you should do if you are attacked by someone wielding a knife. I give it to you for what it is worth. The paper says you should flee. If you cannot, you should shout “fire” to draw the attention of passersby.

Be submissive and passive, not confrontational, and keep eye contact with the attacker. Keep space between you and the knifeman. Protect your vital organs and cover your heart. Fall to the ground and make yourself into a ball to keep the target area small. May you never have to use these bits of advice but if you do, then you should also hope and pray for the best.