Kids stabbing Kids

Two weeks ago I was in a traditional cafe in Tower Hamlets, East London meeting one of my trade union members who is off sick from work. While we were discussing his situation I was vaguely aware that some sort of disturbance had broken out in the street outside the cafe. Youths on push bikes seemed to be having some sort of a row. There was about 3 or 4 of them involved with some more hovering around.

I wasn't really paying attention until I heard some women I knew shouting at them to stop and to break it up. Then I saw one youth carrying what looked like a scaffolding pipe who also tore off his tee shirt and threw it on the floor then ran off. I went outside and found out that  one of the youths had been stabbed. On a street rubbish bin there was a blue tee shirt covered in blood with a small cut in its side.  I rang the Police who were quickly on the scene and sealed off the area. I left them my details if they needed to take a statement from me. I saw the victim being treated by a paramedic further up the Street. I understand that his injuries were serious but not life threatening.

What is wrong with our society? Why are our kids going around armed with knives in the middle of the day?  When I was young there were plenty of such stupid and pointless fights but the premeditated use of weapons amongst the young just by and large did not happen. 

This was not in any way a "golden age".  There was far more unreported horrific domestic and child abuse in those days. I also as a young man growing up in the relative backwater of North Wales actually saw more senseless violence and knife crime than I have ever seen socialising in East London, but this was largely immature males in pub and nightclub drink and drug fuelled stupidity.

The idea of 16-17 year olds on push bikes stabbing each other in the street in broad daylight over teenage petty macho nonsense just leaves me speechless. 

It was ironically not all doom and gloom. The local women who went out and challenged the youths and broke up the initial fight, the passerby who gave mouth to mouth resuscitation to the youth who had been stabbed, the number of people willing to speak to the Police and tell them what they saw. Don't get me wrong, this type of public violence is still very rare and exceptional and the evident shock that local people felt did show this.

But what is the answer? The picture above is of "Get a life and bin a Knife" bins but surely there needs to be more than that?

Vote Tory or Get Stabbed - by "you know who"

Another short post but I could not resist this great Steve Bell cartoon from today’s Grauniad – hat tip to The Spenny Post.

At the moment I am still in the midst of my life long love/hate relationship with the Guardian.

The “hate” at the moment still feels pretty very raw. No doubt “love” will return yet again and the pointless cycle will continue.

Bloody paper...

Frontline public sector workers need stab vests?

This morning the TUC e-newsletter on safety issues, Risks, reports “The growing fear of knife crime in Britain is forcing hospital trusts and local authorities to supply body armour to frontline workers, including accident and emergency (A&E) staff, hospital porters, teachers, benefits officers and traffic wardens.

The Observer quotes stab vest supplier Body Armour Company as saying it had received about 10,000 orders for protective vests from local government, with front line NHS staff accounting for most of them. The firm said it had also received orders for body armour from teachers. Company spokesperson Peter Warren said: 'Councils are becoming aware of the need for armour and protecting their staff. We have had many private enquiries from teachers and the rate is going up. Headteachers are aware that teachers are at risk and knife crime is getting worse.' Schools were its biggest growth market, he said.

The Observer article said experts believe councils are responding to the new corporate manslaughter law. Peter Warren of the Body Armour Company said: 'If a schoolteacher can sue for £300,000 for stress, what price a school that failed to protect its staff from knives?' He said an order had also been placed by a railway operator for 'ballistic body armour' to protect workers”.

Last week UNISON requested stab vests for ambulance workers in the North East. The picture above is of ambulance staff in Essex who were issued with vests in 2005. I think that the point, that it is management concerns about the new Corporate Manslaughter law (despite all its flaws) is behind all this, is probably true.

This issue did come up at a Tower Hamlets Council health and safety committee meeting I attended a few years ago. It goes to show how much things have changed; management and trade union representatives were all horrified at even the thought that staff would need such protection.

Nowadays I am not that sure. Even if you ignore the sensational media reporting I would expect risk assessments for public sector workers, such as - traffic wardens, bailiffs, rail and bus ticket inspectors, A&E staff etc to recommend stab vests. There is a significant risk and it is entirely foreseeable.

But teachers or housing officers? While I don’t work in a school, I am the branch safety officer and I am not aware of any London housing organisations who supply stab vests. However, last year a Police Community Support Officer was stabbed while assisting in a rent arrears eviction. Housing staff throughout London are present daily at evictions, drug raids and crack house closures. I have taken part in some recently myself. So I think the issue does need careful consideration.

Also, in the Risks newsletter was a report from an inquest which found that a worker who died after an explosion at his workplace may have been saved if he had been wearing the appropriate fire safety clothing. I believe that it is accepted in the police and especially amongst licensed doormen (bouncers) that stab vests have saved lives. What no-one wants is a future report of someone being killed when they could have been saved by wearing a vest.

Finally, before we all go and scare ourselves silly, the BBC news website has a thoughtful post on the issue of knife crime which points out that reported knife crime is actually less this year than last year. Also that violent crime overall is down 41% since 1995. Tell that to the Daily Hate.

Boris says Ken to blame for knife crime

Yesterday received a news release from Labour London Assembly Leader, Len Duvall about Boris's attack on Ken for his supposed lack of leadership on gun and knife crime. This attack was a feature, in the ever so neutral and objective, London Evening Standard on Monday evening.

This is a ridiculous argument. Ken has always been consistently strong on law and order. His arguments that it is was the poor and vulnerable that suffered the most from crime and they needed protection by the Police, use to infuriate the left. Now the right are making fools of themselves (and worse) over what should be a serious issue, by claiming he is soft on crime. Len’s comment on Boris was: -

BORIS MADE MORE SENSE WHEN HE KEPT QUIET

Londoners will see through Boris Johnson’s hollow words on knife crime according to Labour’s leader on the London Assembly.

Assembly Member Len Duvall today told a meeting at City Hall that Johnson’s lack of understanding was down to his self-imposed six-month exile from London politics.

Len said, “To suggest that the Mayor is to blame for the recent spate of appalling teenage violence just goes to show how much Boris Johnson has got to learn.

“We have a Mayor who has invested heavily in the police after years of Tory cuts when crime went through roof. We now have dedicated neighbourhood and transport policing teams and more police on the beat. And the number of murders has actually fallen since 2000.

“The Mayor has also just committed nearly £80 million to youth provision in the capital. Maybe Boris was still in hiding when this was announced? I can think of no other reason why he would be completely ignorant of the investment in policing and youth services we have seen under this Mayor.”