Representation of Knife Crime in the UK Media - Case Study Example

KNIFE CRIME: REPRESENTATION OF KNIFE CRIME IN UK MEDIA By and Submission Introduction Cases of knife crime have been on the rise in United Kingdom. This crime has received wide coverage by the TV and print media where criminal gangs and youths are engaging in knife crime. In fact, knife crime is one of the major crimes in Britain with over 277 cases of stabbing annually. This translates to at least five stabbings per week. These shocking statistics shows only how the knife crime is in Britain. There are several factors that may motivate gangs to engage in knife crime. Involvement with bad company or peer influence, drugs, poverty and desire to create fear among peers may inspire youths to engage in criminal activities. Different media outlets in the United Kingdom have covered the knife crime in different ways. For this research, the researcher will focus The BBC News as well as The Guardian. These media outlets have made detailed news coverage on matters touching on knife crime. The detailed articles are presented by journalists who have unearthed how the criminal gangs operate, the government actions to deal with them and how the general public perceives the group. The research will analyze both news outlets in order to get factual details of the criminal gang’s numbers and the number of victims who have suffered knife stabs. Some of the victims survive the stabbings while others are not successful to get treatment as soon as the attacks happen. Some of the survivors are usually too afraid to talk about the attack for fear of being identified. The criminal gang members have created fear among the members of the public, and this research will dig existing information on the knife crime. What is Knife Crime? There are different definitions of knife crime in UK. This entails threatening people with a knife or harming another person with a knife and carrying an illegal type of a knife. It may also constitute carrying or buying a knife if you are a minor (under 18 years). In addition, it also includes murder or assault where victims are stabbed using a knife and also burglary cases where thieves carry knives as weapons. There are different types of knives which are illegal while some may be legal according to government regulations. To know which knives are illegal, you may check with the local police force. However, there is a complete ban on specific types of knives and anyone found in possession of them is considered a criminal or a partner in crime. One of this knives is the flick knives or automatic blades. The knives have a blade hidden in the handle and shoot out whenever you press a button. Butterfly knives are also considered illegal. This type of knife has a blade inside a handle that splits into two and the handles swings around the blades in case you want to open or close it. Other knife types that have been banned include the gravity knives, samurai swords, hand-claws, push daggers, belt buckle knives as well as sword sticks. Most of the people engaged in the knife crimes are young people, with some below 18 years of age. According to researchers, those engaging in this deadly crime are motivated by what they see on TV or what they read in various articles. Other minors engage in the crime due to joblessness and desire to explore more on the vice. Some of the minors are just curious to know what a knife can do and end up indulging in the vice. Furthermore, young people are under pressure to have a ‘hard status’ which they see every day with people they see as mentors or from whom they draw inspiration. According to a recent survey by British Criminal Survey, almost half of teenagers have been involved in the crime or have been affected by the knife crime as victims or perpetrators. Violent gangs are also an issue with most of them glamorizing knives and other weapons as toys. Famous celebrities such as Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Katy Perry and other rap artists contribute to the advancement of crimes by for showing crude and dangerous weapons as toys. Most of them portray dangerous weapons including guns as normal tools rather than dangerous weapons. For example, Katy Perry caused controversy when she posed for a photo with a flick knife held close to her face. This caused outrage among her fans that looked at her as a role model. Some of her fans took similar photos and posted them on the internet. Such practices among celebrities are the reason for the increase in knife crimes and other crimes. Findings from Media Coverage of Knife Crime An article titled “Knife Crime: What is the Truth?” appearing in The Guardian shows how knife crime has increased tremendously over the years. The police department in England and Wales recorded 22, 151 offenses involving knives. Such offenses involved bodily harm, attempted murder, robbery, and wounding. The findings from a survey by British Crime Survey outline the General crimes reported were 130,000 a year. This was a 25% decrease in crime rate when compared to the previous year’s rate. However, despite the decrease in general crime rate, there was an increase in crimes involving knives in the region. In addition, the Department of Health statistics also showed that there was an increase in the crime rate. According to the health department, 14000 people were treated in the hospitals with knife stab. 446 of the victims were below 14 years. These statistics were a 20% increase over a period of years. The majority of the victims were females and men below 18 years of age. This may be attributed to lack of self-defense when faced by the attackers (Haroon, 2008). The prosecution of people found in possession of illegal knives has also increased over the years. This shows that the government efforts to reduce instances of knife crime while still discouraging the vice among the young generation. By 1997, the number of those prosecuted for being in possession of knives was 7699, a 72% increase from the previous year’s stats (Haroon, 2008). An article by Tom de Castellar and Caroline McClatchy titled “Gangs in the UK: How big a problem are they?” shows how extreme criminal gangs have become. The article appearing in The BBC News showed that criminal gangs in the UK have continued to exist and carry out activities despite government efforts to crush them. The criminal gangs have guns and illegal knives which they use to kill or harm their victims (McClatchey & Castella, 2011). The former prime minister of England David Cameron had waged a war against criminal gangs during his tenure. They had become a menace by selling drugs in the city, stealing from pedestrians and motorists as well as stabbing other people in the city. A task force was set up in order to give recommendations on the best way to deal with the gangs. Members of the gangs were arrested, and their cases fast-tracked in the courts. However, such actions by the governments never killed the criminal gang’s morale since they recruit new and younger members into the gangs (McClatchey & Castella, 2011). The government faced various obstacles in its effort to tackle the criminal gangs’ problem in the state. One of this is a lack of information in the Home Office. The office lacked statistics on the number of gangs or the level of gang activities in the states. There were only general figures on the murder rates and knife stabbings but did not show the specific crimes that the criminal gangs are responsible. This could be because criminal gangs’ activities are never reported once they occur (Haroon, 2008). There are also disputes about what constitutes criminal gangs or the gangs. John Heale, the author of One Blood, defines a gang as a group consisting of 10 or more individuals who claim allegiance to a certain geographic area. Some groupings may be mistaken to be gangs whereas there just mere young boys who hang around the streets with no evil intentions. In 2008, Strathclyde Police estimated that there were approximately 170 gangs in Glasgow where 3500 members aged between 11 years and 23 years. Approximately 600-700 youths are members of criminal gangs in Waltham Forest in London alone. Most of the teenager’s murders related to criminal gangs activities according to police records. The legislature has also taken steps to contain the knife crime in UK. An article “Knife Crime Clampdown Wins Commons Backing, Leaving Lib Dems Isolated” appearing in The Guardian. It discusses the house sessions where the lawmakers passed an amendment that imposed a minimum of 6 months jail term for offenders found in possession of knives. The amendment tabled by Nick de Bois received a majority backing where the legislators voted 405 to 53 in favor of the amendment. They voted to support a mandatory jail sentence for any person found twice in possession of an illegal knife. The debate received a major backing from both sides of the coalition, with the Labor and Conservatives united against the Lib Dems to win the motion. This unity of both sides of the coalition marked a breach of the collective coalition responsibility (McClatchey & Castella, 2011). The Labor MPs supported the amendment taking into account public opinion over the knife crime that had angered the masses greatly. They had to stand with the government position on the handling of knife crimes cases. The MPs were confident that the amendments would still give the judge freedom to determine the length of a sentence. The conservatives had agreed to abstain from the motion, but some members of the coalition were given a free vote. The added weight to the Labor MPs side to have the amendment passed. The combined support ensured passage of amendments to have a mandatory sentence for those found in possession of knives twice. The amendments, once implemented, will cost taxpayers an extra £20 million. The governments will need to build extra prisons and expand the already overcrowded prisons of United Kingdom. The amendments will see offenders jailed for a minimum of six months on the second conviction once found in possession of a knife. The amendments will also see 16-year-olds given at least four months detaining and training order. Discussion of the Findings The article titled “Knife Crime: What is the Truth?” shows that despite the decrease in general crime rate, knife crime showed an increase. This is evident in the number of knife crime cases reported and the number of knife stabbings. This showed that the police and judiciary mainly concentrated in prosecuting general crimes while neglecting the knife crime cases. The latter was not taken as a serious crime by the relevant institutions. The increase in knife crime incidences is due to non-reporting of such crimes to the police. Most of the victims of knife crimes fail to report the incidences. The medical teams also do not follow up to know the cause of the knife stabs. There should be improvements on the part of hospital staff to follow up knife stabbings and report such cases to relevant institutions. On the issue of criminal gangs, the authorities should open rehabilitation centers where members who have denounced criminal gangs for rehabilitation. The article by Tom and McClatchy shows how criminal gangs have grown in UK. They are not healthy for the growth of the city and the safety of visitors. The first step to addressing the issue of criminal gangs is to create jobs for young people and to encourage entrepreneurship. Most youths are become members of criminal gangs due to poverty. Some are also looking for people whom they share the same ideologies. The relevant institutions should create an enabling environment in schools and tertiary institutions where students can gain useful skills to empower them. There should be tough penalties for adults found engaging in criminal gang activities. Most of them spend time in jail for a few months, and once released from prison, they go back to the gangs. The members jailed should be rehabilitated and empowered through vocational training and entrepreneurship. The media should also be sensitive to its reporting of knife crime activities. Some of the stabbings are not reported and would otherwise enable relevant authorities to take the necessary steps. The news delivered to the audience may also create panic among the panic and therefore journalism ethics should be taken into account when reporting. The news coverage should aim to discourage and defame criminal gangs involved in knife stabbings rather than create fear among members of the public. By displaying pictures of people who have been badly stabbed by criminal gangs, it may be seen as glorifying the activities of gangs involved in knife stabbings. The gangs may use such publicity to show other gangs how superior they have become. This will see increased knife crimes as the gangs compete against each other. Conclusion The BBC News and The Guardian have properly represented the knife crime in United Kingdom. The two media outlets have detailed the knife crime in the articles published on their web pages. They have shown various measures taken by the governing authorities to deal with criminal gangs carrying out knife stabbings. From the prosecution of perpetrators to enacting laws to deal with the notorious crime, the media has played a vital role in informing the public as well discouraging the vice. Other media outlets should follow suit by giving real information as well as discouraging youths from engaging in knife crime or other criminal activities. References List Castell, T. d. & McClatchey, C. (2011). Gangs in the UK: How big a problem are they?: The BBC News Magazine. United Kingdom: pp. 1-2. Haroon, S. (2008). Knife crime: What is the truth?: The Guardian. United Kingdom: pp. 1-3. Read More