Knife Crime - Continues to Decline

Apologies for the lack of posts in recent weeks. I have had a number of things occupying my mind in the real world and have been unable to post as much as I would have liked. However, here I am, and hopefully I will be able to get a few more posts under my belt as things settle down.

You may remember a little while back I posted on the reality of crime within the UK, particularly in relation to the media feeding frenzy related to knife crime. There have been a number of excellent posts in various other places regarding this matter in the past few days and weeks (see Obsolete and Five Chinese Crackers for more) perhaps in anticipation of the newly announced crime statistics. Before we go into those, a little reminder of my original post (just in case you didn't hit the hyperlink).

My original post noted the following:

So what about the statistics regarding knife crime? Well, according to the BCS, weapons were used in 24% of 'violent incidents'. Given that violent incidents stand at around 2,471,000, that means that 593,040 involved the use of a weapon. In terms of knives, 7% of 'violent incidents' involved the use of a knife. That means that there were approximately 172,970 'violent incidents' involving knives during 2006/7. What is also interesting, however, is that 'violent incidents' involving a so-called 'hitting implement' (which includes sticks, clubs and 'other hitting implements') was around 6% and incidents involving 'glass/bottles' was around 5%. Strangely, we don't hear many politicians speaking out about the rise in bottle/glass crime, perhaps it's not as catchy.

So, that was the story in last year's report, what about this year. Well, it seems to have actually got a little better. The amount of violent incidents involving weapons has remained broadly static at 24%. But what about the biggie, what about knife crime? Last year knives were used in 7% of all violent incidents, this year it was 6%. 6%!! Now, you don't need to be a mathematician to see that the use of knives in violent crime has gone down a whole percentage point. Not bad considering we are, if the media are to be believed, in the middle of an epidemic. However, as the use of knives in violent incidents has gone down, other weapons have gone up. Hitting implements were used in 7% of all violent incidents (hitting implements include, as we have discovered, sticks, clubs etc) compared to 6% last year. So, whilst violence involving knives has actually gone down, violent incidents involving sticks have gone up. Time to enact a stick amnesty I think.

Now, of course, it is a little more complex than that. Knives can obviously kill, whereas a nasty incident with a stick will, at worst, leave you with an overnight stay in hospital. However, the trend has continued downwards for all incidents of violent crime since 1995 when it reached it's peak. There was an overall decline by 8% incidents of violent crime compared to the previous survey, and such incidents are, in actual fact, at their lowest level since 2002. In short, the hysteria doesn't fit the facts. This perhaps the safest period in modern UK history, and yet the media and the political elite have tried their best to stoke the flames of fear (and have succeeded to a certain extent). You have never been safer, no matter what the Mail et al tell you.

Full report - you can read the full findings from the British Crime Survey and police recorded crime here.

Out to Lunch

Apologies again for the lack of posting, I have been very busy with my latest assignment. Luckily, Hugh Manatee has pitched in with yet another entertaining post to keep readers entertained in my absence. As I have been so busy, I have been unable to comment on the latest Human Rights Act furore. However, may I direct you to Obsolete who provides another excellent analysis of the situation. Also, might I suggest a quick trip to this thread to be entertained by someone who believes that only the state is capable of censorship. Go figure. Anyway, I will be able to post with a great deal more frequency next week as I will be on holiday. No doubt I will make up for lost time.

Howard v Campell - Heavy Weight Smack Down....

I actually saw large chunks of the piece on Newsnight on Blair's legacy (whilst flicking across to QT), but I missed this (h/t Obsolete). I can't believe I am actually going to type this (I will have to wash my hands as soon as I click 'publish') - good on you Michael Howard. You are a snivelling Tory scumbag, but at least you nailed Campbell for what he is. An evil, vicious, lying, thuggish, spunk monkey of a man. No fuck off and take your vile Tory chums with you.

The Sun's Paedophile Poll

Just had enough time between lectures to inform you of action I have taken in response to The Sun's paedophile poll. I have written a letter to The Sun complaining that the poll was effectively rigged to produce a very specific result and, ultimately, a very specific headline. I am not holding out much hope of a response, but I have threatened (in a warm, friendly way) to take further action if I am not satisfied with the response (Press Complaints Commission - if it is even worth bothering with!). Once I have a reply from The Sun I will post it here.

Oh, and while I'm here, special thanks to RickB who has been doing a superb job keeping the blog ticking along in my absence. I will hopefully resume normal service on Friday. In the meantime, better get off to the library and do some research (although I guess I might stop off at the SU bar on the way.......).

Another Sun Media Frenzy

Well, there's a surprise. The Sun received the backing of an amazing 99% of readers in their bid to introduce Sarah's Law. Stunning result. Although, when you realise the questions that were asked, it is not really surprising. For example:

Are the human rights of a convicted paedophile more important than those of potential victim?

Er, come again? I don't know about you, but I have never heard anyone argue that the human rights of a paedophile is more important than that of the victim. Of course, in true right-wing style, the options are typically black and white ('yes' or 'no' - with a question like that it is hard to imagine anyone clicking yes, well apart from Sun haters.....like me). Any idiot can see that they wrote the headline first, and the poll second. Obsolete has done a fantastic job of ripping into this idiotic poll, yesterday and today.

The Sun is also running a petition to campaign for Sarah's Law. Obsolete has suggested you sign it with your name as "I oppose Sarah's law" and address as "for the same reason the NSPCC does: there is no evidence that Sarah's law would make children safer." It may seem a futile gesture, but then sabotaging anything by The Sun is always a fun way to pass the time. Far be it for me to influence you, but I have done the same, several times over. But, as I said, don't let that influence you.

Blog Round-up

Lazy posting time. Several posts that have caught my eye:

• Ten Percent has the transcript of an interview with Terry Hicks by ABC.
• Nether-World looks at the Iranian crisis.
• Obsolete takes a swipe at The Sun's pornographic double standard.
• The Bureau of Counterpropaganda takes a look at the Lancet figures for Iraq.
• Jobsanger takes a looks at the modern-day slavery that is the guest worker program.

As for me, hopefully I will be announcing something exciting tomorrow that will see a few changes to this blog.

The Establishment Closes Ranks

As one renowned fascist bastard might say, ‘you couldn’t make it up’. Indeed. Only two days ago, I blogged about the sleight of hand that was the police raids in Birmingham. At the time, I felt that it was a little suspicious that the media were dominated by this story when Blair had already been questioned a second time. However, always cautious to avoid accusations of being a conspiracy nut, I held back from going overboard about this ‘coincidence’. I should have known that my reluctance was unnecessary.

The Guardian today reports what many people already suspected, that the Home Office is leaking incorrect information to the media. This briefing is not only evidence of the levels of political interference the police face, it is also highly damaging to any criminal investigation. How are the police to conduct a thorough investigation when lies are continually printed in the mainstream media? Particularly, when information was leaked before all the ‘suspects’ had been rounded up.


The Sun in particular (who have clearly not learnt anything from their own recent front pages) have been at the forefront of this media frenzy. As usual, they have printed stories that are liberal with the facts and run contrary to what the investigators have publicly stated. Of course, given their recent reporting of the Windsor disturbances, this is hardly surprising. When reports first started emerging of a soldier’s house being attacked and threatening phone calls being made, The Sun jumped on the Muslim bandwagon. As they have now acknowledged (rather feebly), that story was complete bullshit. Despite the fact that this bullshit was exposed in a local newspaper back in October, The Sun only issued their ‘apology’ last month (and apologists like Melanie Phillips still argue that Muslims were behind the attacks).

One story in The Sun that has been refuted by counter-terrorism officials is the one regarding Muslim soldiers being used as ‘live bait’ to entrap the alleged terrorists. Here is the story on their website:



Love that phrase: 'bloodthirsty Islamic fanatics'. Doesn't that send shivers down your spine? They are everywhere, waiting to get an opportunity to blow you up. All it needs now, are a few choice quotes from a Tory MP (perhaps Philip Davies, he likes that sort of thing), and we get the sense of déjà vu. Upon reading The Guardian, however, a slightly different story emerges:

Some of the more sensational claims about the plot - such as reports yesterday that two young British Muslim soldiers had agreed to act as "live bait" in an attempt to trap the suspects - were dismissed by counter-terrorism officials as being completely untrue. Claims that police uncovered a list of 25 intended victims were also dismissed.

So, counter-terrorism officials have no knowledge of such a plan. Furthermore, the same article also claims that:

At least one tabloid newspaper had even been tipped off the night before the dawn raids, and its reporters put on standby to race to Birmingham.

Mmmm, I wonder which newspaper that would be? It couldn’t possibly be a Murdoch rag, could it? And who was it doing the tipping off? An official in Whitehall? The Home Office? And why on earth would officials be leaking this kind of information at this time? Paul Snape, vice chair of West Midlands Police Federation seems to have an idea:

“The police force is asking the question, where did it all come from? There may be political reasons for it, such as what was going on at the Home Office and at Downing Street."

Surely this can’t be true? I mean, where is the evidence that they have ever tried to ‘bury’ bad news? I don’t buy it.

Once again, The Establishment closes ranks. The news of Blair being questioned for a second time is particularly shocking (if not unsurprising when Teflon Tony is involved). No other Prime Minister in our history has ever been questioned by the police, let alone on two separate occasions. And yet, the media seem concerned that a British Prime Minister could end up going to jail and damage our precious reputation. Some sections of the media have started to crank up the pressure on the Assistant Commissioner John Yates. Why? Because they wish to hinder a thorough investigation into the dealings of one of the most corrupt regimes we have ever lived under. There is no other justification for such attacks. Any investigation into the highest levels of our political system requires time and patience. But that would then mean a water-tight case, and that cannot be allowed to happen. Yes, the Blair apologists are in full swing in order to protect his dubious legacy.

Meanwhile, the media focus their guns on an entire community with lies and distortions in order to keep the public fearful and diverted. I wonder how long it will be before The Sun once more prints a pathetic ‘correction’ to their reactionary filth. By playing up the ‘threat’ posed by militants, the media are doing their best to protect the people in power. After all, that’s what they do best.

Other blogs: Obsolete: The politics of leaking - a more thorough debunking of the whole story, coincidentally posted at almost exactly the same time.