North Belfast- Knife Capital For N.I

Tuesday 12 August 08

As you may or may not know North Belfast has been named "knife capital of Northern Ireland".

Within the past 5 years over 5000 knife crimes have been reported throughout Northern Ireland, 600 of them in North Belfast.

In the past year knife crime has been the cause of 3 murders, 3 sexual offences, 45 attempted murders, 423 assaults, 206 robberies and 21 burglaries as well as other crimes such as theft, criminal damage, fraud and forgery.

The maximum prison sentence for people caught carrying knives on our streets is due to double to four years.
Is this enough? Do we, as young people in Northern Ireland, not have enough to deal with besides wondering if we are to be the next statistic on the knife crime register?

That is why we should demand that the knife carriers in Northern Ireland see sense and dump the blades. A knife carried for self-protection can become the very knife that ends your own life.

Too many people's lives and families have already been devastated by these lethal weapons.

Rather than carry a knife why not give your support to the P.S.N.I's new campaign against knife crime.