Did you hear the murder rate in heavily gun-controlled London recently surpassed New York City’s for the very first time? Well, it did, and knives are the weapon of choice in these violent attacks. And with that bit of news, the heat is on London Mayor Sadiq Khan to do something. His solution? Knife control.
Knife Control Tweet
In a tweet posted on Sunday, Khan hit out at knives using language typically used by anti-gun politicians:
No excuses: there is never a reason to carry a knife. Anyone who does will be caught, and they will feel the full force of the law. https://t.co/XILUvIFLOW
— Mayor of London (@MayorofLondon) April 8, 2018
Khan’s tweet links out to an announcement of a series of measures designed to combat the violence. These measures include the creation of a 120-officer violent crime taskforce; “targeted patrols” that give officers “extra stop and search powers” when operating in areas most affected by knife violence; and offering metal-detecting knife wands for every school in London.
London Vs. New York
According to the New York Times, there have been more than 50 homicides in London thus far in 2018, with 31 of them being stabbings. There were 116 homicides—excluding terrorist attacks—in London in all of 2017. If the current pace keeps up, the number of homicides for 2018 could surpass 180. That number would be a 13-year high, the Guardian reports.
Meanwhile, New York, which has roughly the same size population as London, has seen a steady decrease in homicides. In 2017, the city had 290 murders, which is the lowest number since 1951 when there were 243 murders.
CBS News says London had 15 murders committed in February and 22 in March. New York City had 14 murders in February and 21 in March.
USA Today reports that it’s illegal to carry a knife longer than three inches in London without “good reason.” Self defense is not listed among those reasons. Those found to be carrying a knife could be sentenced to up to four years in prison and be subjected to “unlimited fines.”
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