Sell kitchen knives without pointed ends, says judge
A RETIRING judge has spoken out about knife crime, suggesting that pointed kitchen implements should not be sold.
Judge Nic Madge used his farewell speech to warn that custodial sentences for carrying bladed weapons and shops placing blades on high shelves were having ‘almost no effect’.
Instead, the Cambridge-educated judge suggested kitchen knives – the weapon most commonly used in crimes involving blades – should be modified or sold with rounded ends.
‘Every kitchen contains potential murder weapons,’ he said. ‘How often, if at all, does a domestic chef use the point of an 8inch or 10inch knife?
‘I would urge the government to consider preventing the sale of pointed knives and replacing them with rounded ends.
‘Owners of kitchen knives, which have been lawfully bought for culinary purposes, could then be modified.’
Judge Madge, who became a circuit judge in 2004, made his remarks on Friday at Luton Crown Court.
In Bedfordshire, there have been 77 knife-related incidents in the past two months, including three that led to fatalities.
Police recorded 39,598 knife crimes in England and Wales last year – up more than a fifth on 2016.