Carry a knife and you'll go to jail says Cameron

Carry a knife and you'll go to jail says Cameron
Evening Standard ^ | 07.07.08 | Paul Waugh

Anyone carrying a knife on Britain's streets would automatically face jail under the next Conservative government, David Cameron warned today.

Under the new plans, everyone carrying a blade without a reasonable excuse will be prosecuted and those convicted will get a custodial sentence.

Current sentencing guidelines, which allow some offenders to escape with a fine or caution, will be scrapped.

The Tories' Knife Crime Action Plan stops short of a mandatory jail term but makes clear the presumption should be that offenders will go to jail. The minimum sentence will be a community penalty with the offender wearing a high visibility uniform.

Gordon Brown has already said that he wants to create a new "presumption to prosecute" for anyone found carrying a blade longer than three inches.

But Mr Cameron wants to go further.

Currently more than a third of offenders caught carrying knives have been let off with a caution or final warning.

"The Government should say not just there is a presumption you will be prosecuted if you carry a knife, but that there will be a presumption that you will go to jail," Mr Cameron said. "It is not a minor offence. There is no excuse for carrying a knife when you walk out of your door."

The Knife Crime Action Plan, which has been seen by the Evening Standard, includes the "robust" sentencing changes as part of a wider package aimed at dealing with family breakdown, poor education and a "culture of indiscipline" in schools.

Victorian prisons like Wormwood Scrubs would be sold off and the cash used to build new jails.

The Tories' plans came as Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced plans to force hospital staff to inform police when patients are treated for stab wounds. At present, the requirement only applies to gunshot wounds. Ms Smith also said the public must have access to data on gun and knife crime, including jail sentences handed down.

Cherie Booth, who heads Channel 4's Street Weapons Commission, today called for new laws to protect victims and witnesses before, during and after court appearances.

Mr Cameron said his Government would send out a clear and unequivocal message that knife crime is unacceptable, and that carrying a knife will lead to serious punishment.

The Sentencing Guidelines Council will introduce new guidelines, due to come into force next month, which allow offenders carrying a knife to only receive a fine. The Tories say the rules should be withdrawn.

The party's plans state that police officers should spend more time on the streets preventing crime and catching criminals. It vows to cut police bureaucracy that keeps police behind desks rather than out on the beat.

It would also change the rules on "stop and search" to make it easier for police officers to stop suspects and search them for knifes and roll out the use of mobile knife scanners on the streets and on public transport - as Mayor Boris Johnson is doing in London.

Mr Cameron refused to apologise for his "hug a hoodie" approach, saying Britain has the highest incidence of family breakdown and teen pregnancy in Europe.

"The Government is not only soft on crime, it is soft on the causes of crime," he said.

The Tories will end the couple penalty in benefits so that families are no longer incentivised to live apart. Headteachers will have the automatic right to exclude pupils without the right of appeal to an independent local authority panel.

Every out of work benefit claimant capable of doing so will also be expected to look for work or prepare for work.

• Government minister Malcolm Wicks today called for any Londoner found carrying a knife in "suspicious circumstances" to be sent immediately to jail. The MP for Croydon North issued the stark message following the fatal stabbing of 16-year-old Shakilus Townsend in his constituency.

He said: "I am not a 'lock 'em up' person, but we are faced with this sinister spate of attacks and the courts need to give out a clear message. Community service is no longer adequate."