However, it would be foolish to imagine that we are immune from problems that have become established elsewhere. Equally, it makes eminent sense for our authorities to forestall unacceptable trends before they have any chance of taking hold.
Against this background, new measures announced by Home Affairs to curb potential knife crime should not be seen as premature. The public should be reassured that increased sentences for those carrying offensive weapons are planned and that the threat of the knife-carrying culture spreading to our shores is being taken very seriously indeed.
It can also be argued that the proposal that the police should be given powers to search students in school without a warrant is to be welcomed. It might sound excessive and even draconian, but, as Home Affairs Minister Wendy Kinnard told the States this week, it is vital for the police to be able to act immediately if they believe that a violent crime is about to be committed. To wait for a warrant could, in extreme circumstances, put lives at risk.
Significantly, school searches would require the permission of the head teacher, so there is no prospect of officers turning up unannounced to the general alarm of all those concerned.
There is, meanwhile, an active role for schools which would complement the law’s precautions to nip knife crime in the bud. There must be time in the school day for students to be told in no uncertain terms of the possible consequences – intended or unintended – of carrying knives and other potentially dangerous implements.
Given that knives are a part of everyday life in environments ranging from kitchens to gardens and from fishing boats to craft workshops, we must, of course, maintain a sense of proportion and realise that there are many legitimate reasons for possessing blades of many sorts.
If, on the other hand, the right laws and the right police powers are in place, we shall be well placed to avoid the mayhem and grief that wrong attitudes to knives have occasioned on the other side of the Channel.
