Should we treat (violent) crime as something to be cured rather than punished?
The public health approach to violent crime, whether in Glasgow (Scotland) or Baltimore, Chicago and New York, often prompts admiration and replication. This article is a 'Long Read':https://www.theguardian.com/news/201...eduction-unit?
A couple of "tasters":
Quote:
More often than not, solutions have been sought in the criminal justice system – through tougher sentencing, or increasing stop-and-search (despite substantial evidence that it is ineffective in reducing crime)....(later) ... police are often part of the problem.
A rather different comment from John Carnochan, the former godfather of Scotland’s Violence Reduction Unit, has some uncomfortable messages for politicians and crime fighters hoping to emulate his success.
Link:http://https://www.holyrood.com/arti...john-carnochan
Not a sticking plaster: there are risks to treating people like a disease
An interesting viewpoint on the public health approach to violence - can the much-hyped Glasgow approach work elsewhere, notably in London?
Link:https://members.tortoisemedia.com/20...icking_plaster
This year has seen an increase in public place violence, invariably with knives and with many deaths:
Quote:
Two-thirds of police forces in England and Wales recently responded to a Freedom of Information request from Channel 4's Dispatches which showed that, in those force areas, the number of teenagers recorded as having killed with a knife had risen from 26 in 2016 to 46 last year. Patient records from hospitals in England show that seven years ago 141 teenagers were admitted after assaults with a sharp implement like a knife. Last year it was almost twice that - with a clear rising trend.
Link:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47443956