A week ago, Britain’s second most senior judge called for tougher sentences for knife crimes including that of simply carrying a dangerous blade. Sir Igor Judge said that crimes involving the use of knives were reaching “epidemic proportions” in Britain and that attacks where knives were the weapon of choice “have recently escalated”. According to figures from the Home Office for 2006, of 1,226 young people (under the age of 18) that were found guilty of carrying a knife, only 72 of them served any jail time.
