As the police slowly-but-surely start to ramp up the number of stop and searches which they carry out in order to try and bring an end to the rise in knife crime, new methods of detecting the potential murder weapons are being introduced.
Police Officers were put under a significant amount of pressure to REDUCE the amount of stop and searches which they carried out, owing to some seriously bad and mis-informed decisions made by the few, in order to appease the many.
Not to mention, of course, the ridiculous and common sense defying cuts which police forces up-and-down the country had to endure.
Stop and search, however, is one of the only ways to take knives off of the streets.
When I was in the Metropolitan Police, on an inner London 999 response team, I genuinely lost count of the amount of weapons which we found having carried out stop and searches.
I get tired of hearing people who have NEVER served for ONE DAY on the front line of the police, trying to tell the police how and why they should carry out stop and searches.
The unfortunate fact is, that if you live in an area where there is a high amount of knife crime, then you might ended up getting stopped and then getting searched by a police officer.
If you are not carrying a weapon, you are not wanted and you are not abusive, then the interaction will be over very quickly.
The police use common sense and experience in order to determine who to stop and who to search.
This common sense and experience is based upon years of actually being on the streets, responding to stabbings and responding to fights involving knives, machetes, swords and other sharp objects.
The sad fact has been that many with their own agendas to push have tried to hoodwink the general public into thinking that stop and search is based purely on the colour of someones skin.
What. A. Load. Of. RUBBISH.
Ask the people who spout this tosh when the last time they patrolled the streets was?
Or, if you hear someone talk about someone who saw someone getting stopped and searched tell you about their perceived reason for the individual being stopped, then remember the old saying: ‘Chinese whispers’.
I have lost count of the amount of times I have listened to talk radio shows like LBC when people phone up stating that they saw someone else getting stopped just because of their skin tone….really….
Police in Merseyside however, have taken the fight against knife crime one step forward by introducing covert gloves which VIBRATE when a metallic device is detected.
A tweet on the @MerseyPolice twitter account said:
“Officers on patrol in the CityCentre conducted open area safety sweeps of roads & walls finding several knives, one hidden in a drain pipe.
“Using knife wands overtly & new covert metal detecting gloves which vibrate discreetly alerting the user when in contact with metal.
Superintendent Wiggins said “Merseyside Police is working closely with our partners and the door staff of licensed premises to look at new ways to combat the small amount of individuals who feel the need to carry knives on a night out.”
Superintendent Wiggins added “I want to reassure the community that this is a small group of individuals and they will be caught and put before the court”
Hopefully, these gloves are sensitive enough to also detect syringes which are being carried by people, as no-one wants to get a prick to the finger when searching someone who is potentially carrying a knife.
During my time in the Met Police, I witnessed and took part in thousands of stop and searches (over an 8-year period) and not one of them was based on the colour of someones skin – that is a fact.
I cannot speak for every stop and search that is carried out, but if the police did use stop and search powers based on skin colour alone, then I would have seen it happen – and it did not happen.
Not during my time in the police.
And if you are really dead-set against the police using stop and search, then instead of being a part of the problem (knife crime has risen because fewer stop and searches were being carried out) become a part of the solution and do something for your community in order to help convince young lads to stop carrying knives.
And if someone has a ‘beef’ with someone else, then why not invite them into a ring rather than risk murdering someone?
Once a life is gone, then its gone…
There is no coming back.
And 25 years is a LONG time to think about the stupid mistake that you made when you decided to penetrate someones skin with a blade.
If someone pulls a knife on you, then what should you do? Run. That’s what.
Written by one of the many admins of Emergency Services Humour who is also a regular blogger in our fortnightly eMagazine ’S__ts & Giggles’ which you can sign up to by visiting our Facebook page and clicking on the ‘sign up’ button or by visiting: ShitsAndGiggles.Online
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