Halfway Between the Gutter & the Stars

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7273385.stm

A 58-year-old man has been arrested after a man in his 30s was stabbed to death in north London.

This happened less than 10 minutes from my front door. How many more people have to die before our beloved “Government” get off their fat arses and do something constructive in the battle to control knives & other weapons on our streets?

I know that, to most people, the answer is to arm the Police but, as a few of my friends in the Metropolitan Police will admit, they don’t want this. You can see their point, I mean, who would want the responsibility of attending an incident such as the one that prompted this post and having to shoot the instigator because they become a threat.

In London, the onus of carrying firearms on a day to day basis is carried by CO19 (formerly SO19), the Met Firearms Unit. These guys have my utmost respect for the difficult job they do, I know I couldn’t do what they do day to day. For a moment, please consider these brave men and women who 24 hours a day, 7 days a week risk their lives to protect those of us who live and work in London. Imagine what it must be like to be involved in a firearms incident (especially one that may involve people being shot or killed) and having to then go back to your family and act “like normal”.

To those who carry knives, guns or other weapons on the streets of not just London, but any city in this Country, I say just one thing, IT’S NOT HIP/COOL, it’s STUPID. One day you’ll do something that will result in meeting a man or men who are a lot better aim than you are.