PA Bill Number: HB829
Title: In preliminary provisions, further providing for definitions;
Description: An Act amending the act of April 12, 1951 (P.L.90, No.21), known as the Liquor Code, in preliminary provisions, further providing for definitions;
Last Action: Signed in House
Last Action Date: Jul 3, 2024
United Kingdom sees surge in knife attacks and murders :: 07/20/2018
Knife attacks and homicides have soared in parts of the UK — as the number of police officers has dropped, according to new statistics out Thursday.
The total number of homicides, which includes murder and manslaughter, surged 12 percent from the previous year to 701 in England and Wales for the year ending in March, the Office for National Statistics said.
Police-recorded knife crimes have also ballooned 16 percent to 40,147.
Gun crime saw a 2 percent uptick with 6,492 offenses over the same time period.
The UK banned handguns in 1997 with some of the strictest gun laws in the world, though citizens can own some firearms, shotguns and rifles with a license.
Meanwhile, there are 738 fewer police officers patrolling the streets. The UK’s Home Office released separate numbers Thursday showing 122,404 officers as of March 31, compared to 123,142 a year ago — the lowest number of cops since 1996, when recording of those statistics began, the Guardian reported.
ONS analyst Caroline Youell was quick to downplay the latest numbers.
“Most people don’t experience crime. Today’s figures show a fairly stable picture in England and Wales for most crime types. It is too early to say if this is a change to the long-term declining trend,” she said. “There have been increases in some lower-volume ‘high-harm’ offenses such as homicide and knife crime, consistent with rises over the past three years. However, the latest rise in gun crime is much smaller than previously seen.”
The crime report comes as London deals with a troubling spate of mostly stabbing murders since the beginning of this year — a number that surpassed the number of killings in New York.
As of the end of April, there were 1,296 stabbings in the city — and 51 of them have been deadly, the Sun reported, citing statistics from the Metropolitan Police.
London saw a deadly streak in February and March, when 37 people were killed, compared to 35 in the Big Apple.
https://nypost.com/2018/07/19/knife-attacks-and-murders-spike-in-the-uk/
