A tragic death of a young girl on her way to school in Croydon has stirred the nation's conscience. For almost 20 years hundreds of young people have lost their lives involving knives or a bladed instrument.
Apart from the tragic loss of a young life the devastating impact on the families is unbearable. The lives of mother, father, grandparents, siblings, aunties, uncles and friends are ruined as hundreds of families go through this trauma. Every time there is a death, politicians meet the 'community' and promise some action but nothing has stopped the deaths. In London, there were 12,786 offences involving knives in 2022/23. So far this year there have been 80 homicides which include 16 teenagers.
The recent police-recorded crime figures published by the Office of National Statistics showed a 21% increase in the number of knife and offensive weapon offences recorded from 37,706 in the year ending September 2021 to 45,639 in the year ending September 2022. Around four in ten homicides were committed using a knife or sharp instrument in the year up to March 2022, some 282 in total.
This is a 19% rise compared with the previous year and the highest annual total since records began in 1946, according to analysis from the Office for National Statistics. Local Councils are installing Bleed Control Kits in prominent areas to urgently assist victims of violent attacks. Many reasons are given for this tragedy unfolding in our society- broken homes, drugs, territorial rivalry and gangs. Punitive punishments by the Courts have also not worked.
There is a need to think out of the box. I propose that every school child from 10 or 12 years old would have to visit a prison as an outing with their school. There they should be shown prison conditions and what a moment of madness has done to a young person, doomed to stay in jail for years. I fervently believe that this will stop
many future killers. My second proposal is that every school should have a Compassion Class every week. The children should be encouraged to practice empathy and compassion not only for human beings but also for animals. Visits should be organised to animal sanctuaries where children can learn to show compassion to all creatures.
I call upon all the stakeholders to consider this proposal in the belief that in the absence of any other solution to this conundrum let us try something different.
