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 Gun & Knife Crime on the Streets of Britain. How Safe Are We? Father Jim McCartney Chief Executive T.H.O.M.A.S. As we go to print another young life shot dead on the streets of Britain. A young teenager blasted three times by a semi-automatic weapon at 2.40am on Saturday 9 September 2006 on the streets of Moss Side,Manchester. One more broken hearted family having to pick up the shattered pieces of grief. American CBS News recently produced a programme for the US describing Britain's streets and shopping centres as a "battleground" of crime and one of the most violent urban societies in the western world, where people were more likely to be burgled, robbed and assaulted than in America. Although the Home Office dismissed the statistics as "absolute nonsense", saying that the average American is seven times more likely to be murdered than their British counterparts and 60 times more likely to be shot. Edges takes a different view. Knife crime has risen sharply according to a report by the Charity Centre for Crime and Justice Studies. The report shows a large increase in the use of knives in violence involving muggings and robberies. In 2005-6 in England and Wales, muggings where knife crime was used, rose 73% from 24,290 to 42,020 and robberies involving knives increased by 59% from 25,500 to 40,430. Over the last 12 years I’ve travelled to most of our major cities in the world and London is by far one of those places where I feel less safe and more aware of the growing violent trends in street culture. In this edition we explore some of the issues, as an organisation we are committed to helping people change lives. The greatest contribution we can make is knowing we have made a difference. |
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