Phrost
5/27/2005 10:35am,
God save the queen...
...from kitchenware. On this side of the pond, someone from that Brady Campaign is quoted as saying "can sharp stick control be far behind?"
And it wasn't in jest, either.
No, not kidding.
Doctors: Ban dagger-type kitchen knives
Sarah Left and agencies
Friday May 27, 2005
A group of doctors today called on the government to ban long pointed kitchen knives in an effort to reduce the number and severity of stabbings.
Knives are the most common murder weapon in Britain, and three doctors from West Middlesex University hospital in London said their experience indicated that at least half of stabbing cases involved a kitchen knife.
Writing in the British Medical Journal, Emma Hern, Will Glazebrook and Mike Beckett said the use of dagger-type kitchen knives owed more to tradition than culinary necessity. The knives, they argued, could be banned without unduly inconveniencing cooks.
A Home Office spokeswoman refused to say whether or not the government would consider such a ban.
The doctors quoted findings that 24% of 16-year-old boys reported carrying knives or other weapons, with 19% admitting they had attacked someone. In the first two weeks of 2005 alone, 15 murders in the UK were linked to stabbings as well as 16 other non-fatal attacks.
The doctors said many assaults were impulsive, often triggered by alcohol or other drugs, and the long pointed kitchen knife was an easily available lethal weapon, especially in the home.
"Government action to ban the sale of such knives would drastically reduce their availability over the course of a few years. In addition, such legislation would make it harder to justify carrying such knives and prosecution easier," they said. "The Home Office is looking for ways to reduce knife crime. We suggest that banning the sale of long pointed knives is a sensible and practical measure that would have this effect."
Most kitchen knives are based on two designs: the dagger variety with a pointed tip, such as a carving knife, and the blunt round nose variety, such as a bread knife.
"When using a knife to harm, a blunt nosed knife is unlikely to cause serious injury, as penetrating clothing and skin is difficult with it. Similarly an assault with a knife with a short blade such as a craft knife may cause a dramatic superficial wound but is unlikely to reach deep structures and cause death. A dagger type knife, however, can penetrate deeply," the doctors wrote.
With a long, pointed knife, cutting into vital organs was no more difficult than cutting into a ripe melon, the doctors wrote. They argued that continued use of the dagger design may just be a tradition stretching back to between 3000 and 700 BC. The doctors asked 10 well-known chefs about whether large pointed kitchen knives had a culinary purpose.
"Some commented that a point is useful in the fine preparation of some meat and vegetables, but that this could be done with a short pointed knife (less than 5cm in length). None gave a reason why the long pointed knife was essential," they wrote. The Home Office said the law already prohibited the possession of knives in a public place without good reason, with the exception of a folding pocket knife with a blade not exceeding 8cm (3in). The government has also announced plans to make knives harder to buy and to raise the minimum age for ownership from 16 to 18.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,2763,1493851,00.html?gusrc=rss
...from kitchenware. On this side of the pond, someone from that Brady Campaign is quoted as saying "can sharp stick control be far behind?"
And it wasn't in jest, either.
No, not kidding.
Doctors: Ban dagger-type kitchen knives
Sarah Left and agencies
Friday May 27, 2005
A group of doctors today called on the government to ban long pointed kitchen knives in an effort to reduce the number and severity of stabbings.
Knives are the most common murder weapon in Britain, and three doctors from West Middlesex University hospital in London said their experience indicated that at least half of stabbing cases involved a kitchen knife.
Writing in the British Medical Journal, Emma Hern, Will Glazebrook and Mike Beckett said the use of dagger-type kitchen knives owed more to tradition than culinary necessity. The knives, they argued, could be banned without unduly inconveniencing cooks.
A Home Office spokeswoman refused to say whether or not the government would consider such a ban.
The doctors quoted findings that 24% of 16-year-old boys reported carrying knives or other weapons, with 19% admitting they had attacked someone. In the first two weeks of 2005 alone, 15 murders in the UK were linked to stabbings as well as 16 other non-fatal attacks.
The doctors said many assaults were impulsive, often triggered by alcohol or other drugs, and the long pointed kitchen knife was an easily available lethal weapon, especially in the home.
"Government action to ban the sale of such knives would drastically reduce their availability over the course of a few years. In addition, such legislation would make it harder to justify carrying such knives and prosecution easier," they said. "The Home Office is looking for ways to reduce knife crime. We suggest that banning the sale of long pointed knives is a sensible and practical measure that would have this effect."
Most kitchen knives are based on two designs: the dagger variety with a pointed tip, such as a carving knife, and the blunt round nose variety, such as a bread knife.
"When using a knife to harm, a blunt nosed knife is unlikely to cause serious injury, as penetrating clothing and skin is difficult with it. Similarly an assault with a knife with a short blade such as a craft knife may cause a dramatic superficial wound but is unlikely to reach deep structures and cause death. A dagger type knife, however, can penetrate deeply," the doctors wrote.
With a long, pointed knife, cutting into vital organs was no more difficult than cutting into a ripe melon, the doctors wrote. They argued that continued use of the dagger design may just be a tradition stretching back to between 3000 and 700 BC. The doctors asked 10 well-known chefs about whether large pointed kitchen knives had a culinary purpose.
"Some commented that a point is useful in the fine preparation of some meat and vegetables, but that this could be done with a short pointed knife (less than 5cm in length). None gave a reason why the long pointed knife was essential," they wrote. The Home Office said the law already prohibited the possession of knives in a public place without good reason, with the exception of a folding pocket knife with a blade not exceeding 8cm (3in). The government has also announced plans to make knives harder to buy and to raise the minimum age for ownership from 16 to 18.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,2763,1493851,00.html?gusrc=rss