The UK has cool accents and well-dressed celebrities, but the UK model might not be the one we want to emulate regarding legislation and policy. Despite gun control, they seem to have mass shootings (nowhere near the rate of the U.S. but still).
Additionally, they seem to have a number of bombings, the Lockerbie Bombing made the Oklahoma City bombing look like a second string effort. Don’t they have common sense bomb control legislation?
They also suffer mass murder by knife and vehicle attacks. There were 37,443 recorded knife offenses. In the 12 months leading to September there was a 21% increase in knife crime.
A research team from the West Middlesex University Hospital found, “…there was no reason for long pointed knives to be publicly available at all. They consulted 10 top chefs from around the UK, and found such knives have little practical value in the kitchen. None of the chefs felt such knives were essential, since the point of a short blade was just as useful when a sharp end was needed.”
Naturally the researchers proposed a ban on long, pointed knives. Did you get that?
Presumably it is already illegal to use a weapon to murder or assault someone. Clearly they think there is no reason for civilians to own the weapons of war known as long, pointed knives. Apparently the object itself must be removed from society for the greater good. Sound familiar?
Knives are just above the rock and the club in technology. They have existed since Paleolithic times. How do the mental giants of the West Middlesex University Hospital think the ban will work? Even people in prison can make stabbing and slashing weapons. It would literally be impossible to stop people from making knives. So why bother?
“Well, we have to do something!” That is the diaper cry of people that do not understand one simple truth:
Bad people exist, and they choose to harm others with whatever they have.
England’s Denmark Place Fire in 1980 killed 37 people in an arson attack. Do they plan to ban fire next? After knives are banned, are cast iron skillets next? Hammers? Cricket bats? Pipes? Three rolls of coins in a sock? Tree branches?
The UK has one of the highest rates of acid attacks anywhere in the world—an average of 2 per day—and the number is expected to rise. It hardly sounds like Utopia.
Why can’t people, educated people, understand that objects do not commit crimes? It does not take a research team from the West Middlesex University Hospital to know that the keys to reducing violence are upbringing, deterrence, and overwhelming force.
Upbringing begins at home, with people raising their kids with a sense of right and wrong and an understanding of consequences. Church can also help. Public schools may want to help, but chances are they will screw it up.
Deterrence consists of enforcing the laws on the books, so people contemplating an offense know that the consequences are real. A strong police presence is also a factor in deterrence, would-be offenders should know a response could be around any corner. Empowering the public to defend themselves is an important form of deterrence. Predators prefer easy prey. Not knowing if it is safe to commit a crime makes the criminal afraid to act. Disarming honest citizens and punishing them for defending themselves and their property has the opposite effect.
Overwhelming force consists of two parts. The first part is a strong law enforcement department that is trained and equipped to deal with crime… with the support of the law and the politicians. The second part is allowing civilians to use the most effective means to defend themselves… with the support of the law and the politicians. Where the law and the politicians punish law enforcement, law enforcement decreases and criminals are emboldened. The same is true for civilians.
Where upbringing, deterrence, and overwhelming force are lacking, a nation will see crime rise.
“But, but, but the UK is still safer than the U.S.!” That depends on how you define “safe”. The U.S. murder rate is higher than the UK (in terms of number of murders per million people), but the UK overall crime rate is drastically higher than the U.S. (in terms of crimes per thousand people).
I prefer the American model where we don’t arrest septuagenarians for defending themselves from home intruders. I’m looking at you, England.
What do I know? I’m Justa Gaibroh.
LINKS AND OTHER DATA
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5251268/london-stabbing-knife-crime-hackney-man-dead-statistics/
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-42749089
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4581871.stm
http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/United-Kingdom/United-States/Crime
| Time and Place | Deaths | Weapon |
| 1988, Lockerbie Bombing, Scotland | 259 | Bombing |
| 2005, London Bombings, England | 52 | Bombing |
| 1998, Omagh Bombing, Northern Ireland | 29 | Bombing |
| 2017, Manchester Arena Bombing, England | 23 | Bombing |
| 1974, Birmingham Pub Bombings, England | 21 | Bombing |
| 1971, McGurk’s Bar Bombing, Northern Ireland | 15 | Bombing |
| 1974, M62 Coach Bombing, England | 12 | Bombing |
| 1987, Poppy Day Massacre, Northern Ireland | 12 | Bombing |
| 1993, Shankill Road Bombing, Northern Ireland | 10 | Bombing |
| 1972, Bloody Friday, Northern Ireland | 9 | Bombing |
| 1972 , Aldershot Bombing, England | 7 | Bombing |
| 1990, Proxy Bombings, Northern Ireland | 7 | Bombing |
| 1974 , Guildford Pub Bombings, England | 5 | Bombing |
| 1975, Miami Showband Massacre, Northern Ireland | 5 | Bombing |
| 1988, Milltown Massacre, Northern Ireland | 3 | Gun & Grenade |
| 1996, Dunblane School Massacre, Scotland | 18 | Shooting |
| 1987, Hungerford Massacre, England | 16 | Shooting |
| 1972, Bloody Sunday (Bogside Massacre), Northern Ireland | 14 | Shooting |
| 2010, Cumbria Shootings, England | 12 | Shooting |
| 1971, Ballymurphy Massacre, Northern Ireland | 11 | Shooting |
| 1976, Kingsmill Massacre, Northern Ireland | 10 | Shooting |
| 1993, Greysteel Massacre, Northern Ireland | 8 | Shooting |
| 1976, Reavey & O’Dowd Killings, Northern Ireland | 6 | Shooting |
| 1994, Loughinisland Massacre, Northern Ireland | 6 | Shooting |
| 1992, Sean Graham Bookmakers’ Shooting, Northern Ireland | 5 | Shooting |
| 1993, Castlerock Massacre, Northern Ireland | 4 | Shooting |
| 2017, London Bridge Attack, England | 8 | Vehicle & Knife |
| 2017, Westminster Attack, England | 6 | Vehicle & Knife |
| 1980, Denmark Place Fire, England | 37 | Arson |
This is bad, but in Australia it’s illegal to defend yourself, in any way, In one case a man caught an intruder in his young daughters room late at night, in the insuring fight, which involved no weapons but bare hands, the intruder was killed. The father was arrested. . .