Re: School Girl Stabbed in Birmingham : Wed Mar 13, 2013 1:16 pm  

The man who was sectioned is going to be charged with murder.

The law really needs to start coming down like a ton of bricks on people found to be carrying knives in public. There is no excuse for it at all.

Re: School Girl Stabbed in Birmingham : Wed Mar 13, 2013 1:27 pm  

There are plenty of reasons to carry knives in public – you buy one in a shop and you have to carry it home, for instance. Chefs carry their own knives around.

People might have penknives for all sorts of things – fishing, for instance.

There are plenty of entirely legitimate reasons that someone might be carrying a knife in public. We've already gone bonkers to the point of having the sort of bans in place that penalise carrying a fold-up fruit knife.

I bought one in France the other year – an Opinel. Used it on holiday, Brought it home and, the following year, out it in my bag, with my picnic for the journey, to take back.

I got stopped at St Pancras and it was confiscated. Bonkers.

Re: School Girl Stabbed in Birmingham : Wed Mar 13, 2013 2:37 pm  

Mintball wrote:

...

I got stopped at St Pancras and it was confiscated. Bonkers.

Indeed. And of course such measures which entirely frustrate and pis5 off so many honest citizens do absolutely nothing, at all, to deter prevent or reduce knife crime.

Re: School Girl Stabbed in Birmingham : Wed Mar 13, 2013 6:01 pm  

Mintball wrote:

...I got stopped at St Pancras and it was confiscated. Bonkers.

I had a corkscrew confiscated at Manchester airport.
It had a tiny, tiny blade at one end for cutting through the capsule seal on a wine bottle ... that counted as a blade said the guy, size wasn't important.

Re: School Girl Stabbed in Birmingham : Wed Mar 13, 2013 9:37 pm  

Ferocious Aardvark wrote:

Indeed. And of course such measures which entirely frustrate and pis5 off so many honest citizens do absolutely nothing, at all, to deter prevent or reduce knife crime.

Indeed.

Re: School Girl Stabbed in Birmingham : Wed Mar 13, 2013 9:41 pm  

El Barbudo wrote:

...said the guy, size wasn't important.

Bet his wife doesn't share his view.

[Kosh]

Re: School Girl Stabbed in Birmingham : Thu Mar 14, 2013 9:47 am  

El Barbudo wrote:

I had a corkscrew confiscated at Manchester airport.
It had a tiny, tiny blade at one end for cutting through the capsule seal on a wine bottle ... that counted as a blade said the guy, size wasn't important.

Pffft. I once had a set of vernier callipers confiscated at Birmingham airport. Apparently the risk that I might measure someone to death was too high to take.

Re: School Girl Stabbed in Birmingham : Thu Mar 14, 2013 10:04 am  

So does this seem to indicate that the UK has a tendency to make bad law as a knee-jerk reaction to some particularly notorious crimes – and then such laws are enforced by tin-pot dictators without an ounce of common sense or, frankly, much intelligence?

[Wanderer]

Re: School Girl Stabbed in Birmingham : Thu Mar 14, 2013 10:34 am  

Mintball wrote:

So does this seem to indicate that the UK has a tendency to make bad law as a knee-jerk reaction to some particularly notorious crimes – and then such laws are enforced by tin-pot dictators without an ounce of common sense or, frankly, much intelligence?

It does, yes.

Far too easy for the 'tin-pots' to quote the 'law' than apply a little common sense.

[Kosh]

Re: School Girl Stabbed in Birmingham : Thu Mar 14, 2013 10:50 am  

Mintball wrote:

So does this seem to indicate that the UK has a tendency to make bad law as a knee-jerk reaction to some particularly notorious crimes – and then such laws are enforced by tin-pot dictators without an ounce of common sense or, frankly, much intelligence?

Indeed. In fact the 'pointy objects' ban at airports is laughable given what you can buy in the shops once you've passed through security.