Cuts & Stabs: Slashed Budgets & Knife Crime

[et_pb_section bb_built="1" admin_label="section" background_image="http://between-borders.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/large-3c6368506a5967b796ff5e0d8bd892bc.png" inner_shadow="on" custom_padding="|0px|0px|0px" disabled_on="off|off|off"][et_pb_row admin_label="row" custom_padding="-50px||0px|" column_padding_mobile="on" parallax_method_1="off"][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_divider admin_label="Divider" height="203" /][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" text_orientation="center" max_width="1750px" header_font_size="60px" header_font_size_phone="35px" header_font_size_last_edited="on|phone" text_font="PT Sans||||" text_font_size="72" text_font_size_tablet="52" text_font_size_last_edited="on|desktop" text_text_color="#1d1d1d" text_line_height="1.1em" custom_margin="10px||-20px|" saved_tabs="all" inline_fonts="Bitter"]

CUTS & STABS: SLASHED BUDGETS & KNIFE CRIME

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label="Details"] 

Current AffairsWords By: Luc Hinson

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" text_orientation="center" text_font="neuzeit|on|||" text_font_size="11" text_text_color="#bababa" text_line_height="1em" custom_margin="||0px|" custom_padding="||0px|" inline_fonts="Bree Serif" /][et_pb_divider admin_label="Divider" height="30" /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built="1" admin_label="Section" transparent_background="on" custom_padding="0px||0px|"][et_pb_row admin_label="row" make_fullwidth="on" custom_padding="40px|0px|0px|0px"][et_pb_column type="1_2"][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type="1_2"][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" max_width="3000px" text_line_height="1.8" text_font_size="15px" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid"]Harry Uzoka, 25 years old, male model, young king and ground-breaking icon. His death was truly tragic, a young man brought down in his prime, perhaps sadder is that to merit the public outcry of grief that Harry’s tragic death has received it has had to be someone in the limelight knifed down in cold blood. But knife crime in the capital, in the nation as a whole is spiralling out of control.Wretch 32 took to Instagram to rant about the models death: "You think anybody thinks that’s gangster? You think anybody thinks that’s hard? You think anybody’s going to give you a pat on the back for that? You’re going mad. Stay in your fucking lane and forget this foolishness." [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" text_orientation="center" header_font_size="60px" header_line_height="1.3em" text_font_size="40" text_line_height="1em" inline_fonts="Open Sans Light" /][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" max_width="3000px" text_line_height="2em"]When pressed on the issue of knife crime the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick lamented at her stretched force and insufficient budget, but a question has to be asked that doesn’t concern policing or arrests:are we doing enough to stop knife crime happening in the first place? [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label="row" make_fullwidth="on"][et_pb_column type="1_2"][et_pb_image admin_label="Image" src="http://between-borders.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/74d67696afcb710829ebe3dc5190e6a8.jpg" align="right" force_fullwidth="on" /][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type="1_2"][et_pb_image admin_label="Image" src="http://between-borders.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/74d67696afcb710829ebe3dc5190e6a8-2.jpg" force_fullwidth="on" /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label="row" make_fullwidth="on" custom_padding="0px|0px|0px|0px"][et_pb_column type="1_2"][et_pb_text admin_label="Text"]

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type="1_2"][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" max_width="3000px" text_line_height="2em"]

Short term sentences get dangerous potential offenders off the streets for a small period of time. But once released they’re back out there, back into the same deprived areas, the same areas with no opportunities, the same areas where many of the youth of today join gangs to obtain respect from that community. Because they simply have no other options. No crime, no murder can ever be truly excused or justified, but we have to understand how disenfranchised are the youth of today that they are being driven to violence, murderous gang culture. How lacking are their areas in opportunities to keep them off the streets, that turning to gangs and crime seems like a viable option? 

The 2015 index of multiple deprivation paints inner city metropolitan areas as those with the highest levels of deprivation, in the list of the 20 neighbourhoods with the highest level of deprivation you find Solihull in Birmingham, the Greater Manchester area, Liverpool, Tower Hamlets, Islington, Hackney and Newham. Coincidently these are all the same zones that register the highest levels of violent crime. The two are inextricably linked, to tackle violent crime, you first must tackle deprivation. 

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label="Row" make_fullwidth="on" custom_padding="20px|0px|20px|0px" parallax_method_1="off" parallax_method_2="off"][et_pb_column type="1_2"][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type="1_2"][et_pb_divider admin_label="Divider" color="#eaeaea" show_divider="on" disabled_on="on|off|off" /][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" disabled_on="on|off|off" header_line_height="1.2em" text_font_size="45px" text_line_height="1em" custom_margin="50px|50px|20px|" custom_padding="0px|||" saved_tabs="all"]

"WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND HOW DISENFRANCHISED ARE THE YOUTH OF TODAY THAT THEY ARE BEING DRIVEN TO VIOLENCE, MURDEROUS, GANG CULTURE"

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider admin_label="Divider" color="#eaeaea" show_divider="on" disabled_on="on|off|off" /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label="row" make_fullwidth="on" custom_padding="0px|0px|0px|0px"][et_pb_column type="1_2"][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type="1_2"][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" max_width="3000px" text_line_height="2em"]

 In March of 2017 the Office of national statistics registered an 18% increase in violent crime on the last year, included in this was a 20% increase in Knife and gun crime. It is clearly a problem spiralling out of control so isn’t it about time we seriously looked at addressing the underlying issues rather than sticking a plaster over the problem every time it crops up. Arrest statistics look good on paper, they allow police forces to pad their stats and say they are doing a good job. Instead of a crime/punishment method focusing on weapon confiscation and tougher sentencing a medical/social policy approach would be much more effective. Looking deeper into the causes rather than arresting someone after they have stabbed someone wouldn’t it make far more sense to stop that person from picking up a knife in the first place...  To begin this process we need to lobby the government, get them to introduce policies that tackle the societal issues behind inequality and address deprivation. Government budgets should be spent on addressing the causes of crime rather than beefing up police numbers – the easy way out – support local councils, help them set up amnesty bins, open outreach centres, support the young in their localities, provide opportunities to keep young men and women from picking up knives and stop the violence.   Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Harry Uzoka and every other person affected by knife crime in the UK. This is serious problem that requires urgent action, don’t let this become just another disposable news story that fades into distant memory.   The least you can do is sign this petition to help increase local council funding:   https://www.change.org/p/sadiq-khan-get-youth-funding-bk-say-no-to-knife-crime-drugs-and-prevent-this-from-all-of-youth  Peace, 

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_sidebar admin_label="Sidebar" orientation="left" area="sidebar-1" background_layout="light" disabled="off" disabled_on="|on|on" remove_border="off" /][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" text_orientation="center" max_width="3000px" text_line_height="2em" custom_margin="|||50px" /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built="1" admin_label="Section" custom_padding="||0px|" transparent_background="off" allow_player_pause="off" inner_shadow="off" parallax="off" parallax_method="on" make_fullwidth="off" use_custom_width="off" width_unit="on" make_equal="off" use_custom_gutter="off"][et_pb_row admin_label="row" make_fullwidth="on" custom_padding="0px|0px|0px|0px" use_custom_width="off" width_unit="on" use_custom_gutter="off" allow_player_pause="off" parallax="off" parallax_method="on" make_equal="off" parallax_1="off" parallax_method_1="off" background_color="#ffffff"][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" header_text_color="#ffffff" header_letter_spacing="19px" text_letter_spacing="1px"]

RECOMMENDED

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_blog admin_label="Blog" fullwidth="off" posts_number="6" meta_date="j M, Y" show_author="off" show_date="off" show_pagination="off" offset_number="0" masonry_tile_background_color="#ffffff" header_font="|on|||" header_font_size="20px" meta_font="||||on" meta_font_size="12px" meta_text_color="#939393" use_border_color="on" saved_tabs="all" /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built="1" admin_label="Section" background_color="#000000"][et_pb_row admin_label="Row" make_fullwidth="on" custom_padding="30px||30px|" custom_padding_phone="0px||0px|" background_color="#0c0c0c" column_padding_mobile="on" parallax_method_1="off" parallax_method_2="off" parallax_method_3="off" custom_padding_last_edited="on|phone" custom_css_main_element=".et_pb_newsletter_form p:nth-child(2){||display: none !important;||}||.et_pb_newsletter_form p:nth-child(3) {||display: none !important;||}||" global_module="29934"][et_pb_column type="1_4"][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type="1_2"][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type="1_4"][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

Previous
Previous

Interview: Luke Dawes, Only Jerkin'

Next
Next

'Is He Adopted?'