Knife poll: People want tough

THE topic of knives, and more importantly those who carry them, is sadly big news across Coventry at the moment.

There have been many stabbings in the city over the past year, most recently when a 17-yearold boy was knifed in the hip at the Gallagher Retail Park in Stoney Stanton Road, on Thursday, February 7.

His injuries are not lifethreatening.

However some incidents have proved fatal the murders of Daniel Kennell, Fidel Glasgow and Jaydon James are proof of the truly tragic circumstances and the stark reality of what can happen when a knife is drawn.

A number of people go through Coventry’s courts having been charged with the office of possession of an article with a blade or point possession of a knife or similar item in layman’s terms.

A recent case saw a 25-year-old man jailed for six months for having a large kitchen knife on him at the Coventry Transport Museum.

He had “two significant previous convictions” and people at the city centre attraction felt in danger, which led magistrates to the decision that an immediate prison sentence was the only viable option.

The current sentencing guidelines for the charge range from a fine all the way up to two years and six months behind bars.

We made the decision to find out what people thought of sentences handed out for possession charges and spoke to a knife charity and, most importantly, you.

We posted a poll on our Facebook crime group asking whether or not prison time is correct in cases of those caught with a knife.

A huge 388 voted that an automatic prison sentence is the correct outcome, 23 said it depends on the circumstances and a solitary person said such a sentence is excessive.

The one person whose vote stood out in the poll was Austin May, who stated: “No, its not required, not because it’s excessive, but because our prisons are overflowing with people being send down for silly crimes.

“If they use it to cause harm then the jail sentence should be given. Possession of a knife is not a singular crime, it is a cultural thing that needs to be stopped before it gets out of control.

“Sticking the offenders in prison will not stop that, it will just cost the taxpayer millions. Knife amnesty’s seemed to do the trick for many years, we should start there.”

As well as asking for your vote, we wanted to hear your views and you