Editor: Why drop the knife if they can keep getting away with it?

I was driving near the city centre last summer when I was hit by a motorbike. There was no discussion about who was right and who was wrong – I was following the law and they had just sped at high speed through a red light.
When knives are carried on our streets, anybody can become a victimWhen knives are carried on our streets, anybody can become a victim
When knives are carried on our streets, anybody can become a victim

It could have happened to anybody but I happened to be the one unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Why is this relevant to today’s front page on knife crime? Well, after picking themselves up and racing away, the bikers had the audacity to drive back up the dual carriage way a few seconds later brandishing an enormous blade.

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It was only the actions of the quick thinking driver behind me, who grabbed a chain which had flown off the bike as it hit the floor and swung it at them, which made them finally flee.

Nobody was caught even though the officer who investigated said he had watched the CCTV and it was a very serious crime.

I can only imagine the bike, which had no number plate, had just been stolen from somewhere near West Street. A very regular occurrence, I was told by another concerned driver at the scene.

And these thugs were wearing helmets which obscured their faces so there was no way to identify them.

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So what’s my point? Well, today’s figures of people who go before our courts multiple times charged with carrying knives and get off without serious punishment show why this pair felt it was safe for them to drive through town with an enormous blade in broad daylight. They laugh at our justice system.

I wasn’t injured and my heart was filled with joy at the crowd which gathered to check I was ok – but why aren’t we doing more to protect the lovely folk of this city?

Carrying a knife does not keep anybody safe. Quite the opposite, it puts everybody in danger. That is why the police take these crimes seriously and that is why our courts need to back them up with punishments that will deter.

It is no joke. Being arrested, appearing in court and ‘getting away with it’ should not be an extra weapon we hand to criminals in search of bragging rights.

If our justice system is not seen to take this seriously, we can’t expect those who leave the house with a killer weapon to either.

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