Posts involving offences of the use of a bladed article or knife have been amongst the most frequent to have occupied these pages in the last 11 years. Indeed my first post on the subject was published in 2014. The French language best sums up the repeated attempts by His Majesty`s Governments to contain this scourge; PLUS ÇA CHANGE, PLUS C'EST LA MÊME CHOSE.
A society doesn`t disintegrate from the top down. Certainly those in control have a lot to answer for. Failures in policies conceived by incompetents and carried out by those in hoc to their masters to put bread in the mouths of their starving children have been a blight on the face of civilisation for millenia. Today`s government and society are little different from those of medieval England except the errors and miscalculations are magnified in their effects. Indeed in his new book published this week Boris Johnson likens Richi Sunak`s betrayal as Brutus`s was to Caesar.
When it suits the moment governments will laud the reduction in crime overall or those parts which will gain sympathetic momentum in the media. In doing so like a driver whose speed is breaking the limit, the foot will lift from the accelerator and the car allowed to slow. If it`s judged still to be going too fast the brake will be applied. In a financially crippled justice system such crime reduction will be an excuse to reduce the appropriate budget. So now we have a stop start policy on knife crime. Stop and search effectiveness varies according to the politics of the observer; or so it seems. Albert Einstein also had noted that an observer can change the facts in his theory of general relativity causing him to publish his theory of special relativity a decade later.
The Sentencing Guidelines on bladed articles and knives is IMHO taking a sledge hammer to crack the nuts of the angels dancing on a pinhead. Common sense has been left behind it seems in an effort to ensure that every associated fact or action can be incorporated in what it thinks is an appropriate sentence. There is no doubt in my mind that within a decade these guidelines will be replaced by algorithms with the bench left to decide on what manual interventions would be justifiable to make the particular circumstances of each case fit the crime. Meanwhile with the courts and prisons in chaos, reduced court reporting in local print media and serious knife offending being news headlines almost daily I have gathered below just a few recent cases where the hot air of politicians on and off the hustings can be seen for what it really is; bluster and deceit to fool the British public and especially the parents of teenage boys that there is active control to reduce knife crime.
Kai Kiernan Nanpean, St Austell Age: 19
On or about July 7 at Leamingston Spa had with him, without good reason or lawful authority, in a public place Victoria Terrace an article which had a blade or was sharply pointed, namely a machete.
On August 1, at Queen's Crescent, Bodmin, had an article which had a blade or was sharply pointed, namely a kitchen knife with a blade exceeding three inches.
Suspended sentence order: two months, suspended for 12 months. Mental health treatment: 12 days. Rehabilitation activity: 20 days.
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A woman was found hiding in bushes near a pre-school in Bridport with a large knife, a court has heard.
Rebecca Wilson, aged 41, pleaded guilty in Weymouth Magistrates Court to possessing a knife blade/sharp pointed article in a public place in Bridport.
This related to an incident which happened in St Andrews Road on June 21, 2024.
Christina Norgan, prosecuting, told the court that at 9.10pm, police received a 999 call from a member of the public that a woman was seen in possession of a large knife in the bushes next to St Andrew’s pre-school in Bridport.
When she was detained, Wilson told police officers “I’ve got a knife.”
A kitchen knife was subsequently retrieved from her waistband and she was taken into custody.
Wilson was previously convicted in 2012 for wounding.
Simon Lacey, mitigating, presented a mental health form on Wilson’s behalf to the magistrates’ bench and asked for it to be taken into consideration before sentencing.
Stephen Takel, chair of the magistrates' bench told the defendant: “The reason these sorts of offences are treated in this way is because of the risk of knife crime.
“We noticed in the interview report you were confused why it was taken so seriously. The reason is that knife crime is very serious and people die. The authorities don’t know what a person’s intention is.
“If you are in possession of a knife in public, you are considered a risk to others.
“My recommendation would be to not go out of your house with a bladed article full stop to avoid future offending in this way.”
The defendant was given a 12-month community order.
Wilson, of Dorchester Road, Weymouth, must also attend 12 sessions of mental health treatment with a clinical psychologist to understand her triggers and trauma.
She must also complete 15 days of rehabilitation activity requirement days.
She was fined £120 and must pay courts cost of £85 and £114 surcharge.
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A 43-year-old east Suffolk man has been handed a suspended sentence after being caught in the street with a knife.
Jamie Buckenham, who is of Bloomsbury Close in Lowestoft, admitted having a flick knife in Seago Street in the coastal town when he appeared at Great Yarmouth Magistrates’ Court.
He was given a three-month prison sentence that was suspended for 18 months when he was sentenced by magistrates for a single charge of possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.
The flick knife was taken by police and the defendant must complete a 40-day rehabilitation programme.
The incident happened on September 22 last year, a court listing confirmed.
As well as the suspended sentence, Buckenham was also ordered to pay £85 in costs to the Crown Prosecution Service told to pay a surcharge of £154 and complete 100 hours of unpaid work.
A collection order was made for the sums.
The defendant's guilty plea was taken into account when magistrates decided on his sentence.
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A man begged magistrates not to send him to jail after he was caught with a banned knife, having already been convicted of numerous offences of violence.
Several members of the public had called 999 to report that Kieran Eames, 26, was in Loughborough town centre with a folding butterfly knife.
At Leicester Magistrates' Court on Monday he admitted possessing a blade in public.
Eames, of King Street, Loughborough, had to be repeatedly asked to keep quiet after entering the courtroom. He apologised and told the magistrates: "I'm just really worried.
"I don't want to go back to prison. I'm begging you."
Prosecutor Peter Bettany told the magistrates Eames had previously been convicted of various offences of violence - including assault by beating of a police officer in May 2022 - but had never been convicted of having a knife before.
Eames's solicitor, Rachel Gaffney, told the magistrates: "He made no attempt to conceal it. He didn't brandish the weapon at anyone and he said in his police interview he didn't know it was a criminal offence to have such a weapon on his person in a public place."
Probation officer David Charlton told the court Eames had issues with drink and drugs, but had refused to speak to probation to give them more information. He added that Eames was "extremely vulnerable" and that prison would be a "dangerous place for him to be".
The chair of the bench, Elizabeth Needham, told Eames they would be giving him a suspended sentence instead of sending him to prison. She said: "You need to keep yourself out of trouble."
Eames replied: "Thank you. You won't see me again. I've been petrified for months thinking I'll be going back to jail."
Eames was given a 20-week sentence, suspended for 12 months, and was ordered to pay a £154 victim surcharge.
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