Violent crime has doubled since Labour came to power a decade ago. Stabbings and assault in Britain are now common, if not daily occurrences; at night city centers are generally regarded as no-go areas; “feral” youths and gangs loitering the streets – often drunk on cheap alcohol – make many people too afraid to go for a walk on a summer evening.
 
Every week yields up plenty of reasons why people have good reason to be scared in modern Britain. On Saturday evening 60-year old Stan Dixon, a former soldier, was attacked by youths, for asking them not to swear in front of a woman. He died yesterday in hospital. 17 teenagers have been murdered in London alone this year. The latest victim, 16 year-old Ben Kinsella, was killed on Sunday night. On Tuesday Dee Willis, a 28 year-old woman, was stabbed to death by a female attacker in south-east London. Today, the country woke up to reports of the extremely brutal and apparently motiveless murder of two French exchange students, Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez (both 23). The two men had been playing computer games at Mr. Bonomo’s apartment in New Cross, south-east London, on Sunday night, when they were attacked, gagged, tortured (suffering nearly 250 stab wounds between them), and their bodies set on fire.
 
The police are no longer beloved by the public, it is sad to say. Political correctness and bureaucratic paperwork has meant that officers go for soft targets (including such trivial things as allegedly dropping an apple core), while ignoring serious crime, such as burglary. This week, however, there was a brief spark of hope that things were beginning to turn around. Metropolitan police chief Sir Ian Blair and London mayor Boris Johnson held a joint press conference, announcing that over a thousand arrests had been made, and 538 knives confiscated from youths, in a recent police initiative. Yet, a slap in the face to this hard work, and, indeed, to the general public, the Sentencing Guidelines Council has issued new sentencing guidelines that will mean anyone found guilty of possessing a knife will face only a small fine – no deterrent whatsoever.
 
The British are not known for protesting. But, today, with a lack of faith in the authorities, a grassroots movement against violence is beginning to emerge. Families of victims of violent crime are making themselves visible, and heard. Yesterday a march was led by the sister of Ben Kinsella, in response to his murder, calling for an end to the epidemic of violence.