THE father of a young man stabbed to death in the street today said Scots politicians needed a dose of reality following new proposals to license the sale of knives.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has unveiled plans to license shops selling non-domestic knives in the latest bid to tackle the country’s blade culture.
However, Bill Jenkins, 54, from East Calder, whose son John was killed in an unprovoked atta
ck last December in Livingston, has insisted the crackdown won’t make a difference.
John Edgar, 24, from Glasgow, and his cousin David McCaig, 18, from Ladywell, in Livingston, were drunk after a funeral the previous day when they attacked the 27-year-old chef as he made his way to work.
Both were found guilty of the offence in June and Edgar was told he must serve 15 years before he can apply for parole. McCaig was jailed for at least ten years.
Today, Mr Jenkins – who described the minimum sentences as “a joke” – condemned the latest knife crackdown as too little, too late. “This is a small step in the right direction against knife crime, but it’s not enough,” he said.
“As most knife crimes are caused by household knives, I really don’t see how this will make much of a difference. I still say the only way to stop the knife culture in this country is to impose tougher sentences.
“Gordon Brown and Kenny MacAskill need to wake up and smell the coffee because I don’t think they live in the real world.”
The Scottish Government has launched a public consultation on the possibility of licensing sellers of knives, which could apply to shops from small traders to large DIY stores.
Stores would be banned from displaying “any knife other than those designed for domestic use” in shop windows, and anyone buying a knife would have to produce photographic ID and a bank statement or utility bill with their address on it for a detailed written record to be kept on file.
Dealers of non-domestic knives would need to be licensed by the local authority and comply with certain mandatory conditions set out by the Scottish Government.
Local authorities would have the power to impose further conditions, such as requiring knives to be kept in a locked cabinet or a total ban on displays. Councils could also insist on CCTV monitoring to identify customers.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: “There is no doubt that weapons such as hunting and combat knives can, in the wrong hands, be part of this problem.”
Victim Support Scotland’s head of communications, David Sinclair, said: “Young people are carrying kitchen knives and home-made knives, but there is an element of status and some want to be seen with the latest knives. This has to be discouraged and we wholly endorse the proposals.”
The public consultation on the scheme is available from
www.scotland.gov.uk and will run until October 22.
The full article contains 503 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
