Robinson says anti-knife laws are not enough - Gang Culture is the real problem
Long time anti-knife campaigner Ken Robinson MLA, the Ulster Unionist Assembly Member for East Antrim, said today that the PSNI admission that knife crime had doubled since 1998 was a vindication of the campaign he has been waging against the knife culture here for the past four years.
“The PSNI admission that knife crime is twice as bad as during the troubles shows the dimension of the problem we face. With three knife incidents a day over the last 6 months, we need to take action on a broad front.”
“I welcome the up-coming Government anti-knife campaign on television – this is something I first called for in 2002. But that alone is not enough.”
“What I have learnt is that the knife culture is only an expression of a deeper problem – the Gang culture. It is this gang culture which turns teenagers into killers. We will never deal with the knife problem until we crack the Gang Culture problem.”
“One way to do this would be to impose Dispersal Orders under the ASBO (Anti-Social Behaviour Orders) legislation. This needs to be extended to Northern Ireland. It is already effective in some parts of England. This legislation would give police authority not only to break up gangs but also to take action against groups of two or more involved in drug taking, under-age drinking and alcohol-related violence. This would enable intervention at a level and with an intensity which would deal a severe blow to the gang culture in an area before it becomes the norm.”
“The problem is that the gang culture is taking a grip not just in inner city deprived areas but in some suburban neighbourhoods. Ultimately, this is an issue of enforcement. There is no point in having laws on the statute book if they are not enforced. With over 1,000 knife crimes a year Northern Ireland needs to get pro-active on this.”