Quote:
Originally Posted by wookie1888
Apparently a man was viciously stabbed at T in the Park at 01.00 this morning and is in a bad way. I was under the impression that there was a law already in place in that if you were caught in possesion of a knife and did not have a genuine reason for having it then there was an automatic jail sentence imposed. If thats not the case then it should be. Its getting well out of hand the amount of young people carrying knives and stabbing other human beings without a second thought. I have a 10 year old daughter who is at the stage of wanting that bit more freedom,but to be honest im reluctant to let her out of my sight. If you carry a knive you run the risk of either using it or having it used on you so the thumb of rule there is "DONT CARRY A KNIFE".
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Shock tactics for knife carriers
Marches have been held in London to demonstrate against knife crime
Young people who carry knives will be made to visit hospitals where stabbing victims are treated, in a bid to shock them into changing their behaviour.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said seeing "gruesome" injuries would be a "tougher" deterrent than simply sending all knife carriers to prison.
The announcement follows a recent spate of fatal stabbings.
But the mother of one victim said the plans sounded "cumbersome and not particularly cost-effective".
Meet families
Ms Smith unveiled the plans on Sunday, hours after a man in his 30s was stabbed to death at a pub in Bolton in the early hours.
In Scotland, a man is in a serious condition in hospital after suffering multiple wounds at the T in the Park music festival early on Sunday.
On Thursday, four men were stabbed to death in London and a fifth died after a knife attack in West Bromwich.
On Friday a 16-year-old youth was found guilty of murdering schoolboy Martin Dinnegan, 14, who was stabbed near his home in Holloway, north London in June last year.
I'm very keen that we make people face up to the consequences 
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith
Mrs Smith's proposals will see young people caught carrying knives being made to go to accident and emergency wards, to see for themselves the consequences of stabbings.
They will meet families of victims, and make prison visits to people convicted of knife offences.
The measures, overseen by senior Metropolitan Police officer Alf Hitchcock, will focus on a areas including London, the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire, Essex and the Thames Valley.
Mrs Smith told Adam Boulton on Sky News there should not be a "simplistic approach" to knife crime, adding: "I think if you use your knife or if you are in any way threatening with it, certainly you ought to be sent to prison."
She added: "But for others, actually what I think would be tougher is actually being made to face up to the sorts of implications of young people carrying knives on our streets; what it means in terms of gruesome injuries; what it could well mean to your future if you end up in prison; what it means to the families of those who actually lose people through knife crime.
"And I'm very keen that we make people face up to the consequences. In my book, that's tougher than simply saying there's one simple solution and that's everybody goes to prison."
But Anne Oakes-Odger, whose son Westley was stabbed to death in 2005, told BBC Radio 5 Live: "It all sounds rather cumbersome and not particularly cost-effective and I can't help but wonder how the actual stab victims would feel about that [hospital visits].
"I do welcome some of the announcements that seem to be coming through, such as knife arches to ensure that young people aren't carrying knives into certain social venues."
'Even bigger shock'
Barbara Dunne, who canvassed the home secretary on the issue of knife crime after her son Robert was murdered in 2003, welcomed the plans, but said ministers should have gone further.
She said: "I also think there should have been a shock tactic, under certain circumstances for jailing youths who are carrying knives - even if it's for two or three weeks. That would have been an even bigger shock to the system. "
Mrs Smith has written to all 43 chief constables in England and Wales, reminding them of their powers to require pubs and clubs that are associated with knife or gun problems to search customers on entry.
Ministers are also looking at how hospitals might work to help the police identify offenders without breaking patient confidentiality.
The announcement comes ahead of the publication on Tuesday of the government's £100m crime action plan to be launched by Mrs Smith, Justice Secretary Jack Straw and Children's Secretary Ed Balls.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the recent un-related knife deaths were "shocking and tragic," and promised the publication of a cross-government youth-crime plan.
Shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve said children should be targeted in the first year of primary school to prevent them from turning to knife crime later. He said there are primary head teachers "who can point out... children who are going to be a serious problem". The approach was one of three key ways he said the Conservatives would employ to tackle knife violence.
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