If you think the UK is bad

[cromwell]

It could be worse, you could live in Sweden or France.
Bombing - yes, bombings - are running at one a day in Sweden. 27 by January 27th, 2025.
In 2024 there were 317 bombings. Mostly these are comitted by criminals against other criminals using weapons like hand grenades. 90% of the people involved in stuff like this are from an immigrant background.
Another problem the Swedes have is of young criminals. Swedish law states that the age of criminal responsibility is 15 years old. So no matter what you do if you are 14 or younger, you can't go to jail. This has led to schoolboys being recruited as murderers by gang members.
In 2024 there were also 53 people killed in shootings in Sweden, mostly gang related.
Meanwhile in France there are (according to the Spectator magazine) 120 knife attacks every day.
The French refer to the ‘Décivilisation’ of their country.
In an internal memo leaked this week to the press, the head of the Gendarmerie, Hubert Bonneau, warned that France was at ‘tipping point’ because of the range of external and internal threats. Organised crime is a cause of particular concern.

In this country we learn very little of what's going on in Europe vis a vis crime; so bad as things may be in this country, others have it worse.

[Workingman]

Yes, I do think the UK is bad.

Latest figures for England and Wales show over 55,000 injuries due to a knife or sharp instrument (150 per day) resulting in 224 deaths. Scotland and NI have their own figures.

The ONS does not give breakdowns of the ethnicity of the perpetrators or victims. I suspect many of us will be thinking that a large percentage were carried out by 1st or 2nd generation immigrants.

[cromwell]

I had no idea our knife crime was on that scale WM.
And just today, a 15 year old has been stabbed to death outside school in Sheffield, allegedly by another teenager.
Just awful.

[cromwell]

On another thread Suff commented on the authorities withholding the truth.
I agree and would add that the media are complicit in this.
This story, about a murdered schoolboy, has already dropped out of the news.
But we aren't in 1975 any more. Every person wandering around the streets has a phone with a camera on it.
The alleged attacker's name and face has been posted widely on social media. A very embarrassing accusation has been made re the school's head teacher.
It will be interesting to see how much of this ever makes the news.

[Workingman]

On another thread Suff commented on the authorities withholding the truth.

I also mentioned that,

If the authorities mention it they are crucified as racists, if they keep quiet the far-right opens up complaining the authorities are complicit in some sort of cover up.

We need to get a handle on this.

[Suff]

On another thread Suff commented on the authorities withholding the truth.

I also mentioned that,

If the authorities mention it they are crucified as racists, if they keep quiet the far-right opens up complaining the authorities are complicit in some sort of cover up.

We need to get a handle on this.

Yes WM we differ and agree depending on topic.

It is a no win situation. The only thing I wish is that if you are in a no win situation you do the right thing, not the expedient thing.

I was out in North London, not far from Apex Corner and I went out from my apartment, round the corner towards the tube station before heading off down the road for my car. There were myriad police cars and two NHS estate car fast response vehicles.

I got what I wanted from my car, got back to the apartment and did a quick search. One person shot dead and another seriously injured. In direct line mere yards from my window. I was the other side of hte tube lines looking down on the station.

A few weeks later someone was stabbed to death on the West Hampsted tube station. WH is a station where they empty the passengers out and take tubes out of service. I had been on it many times.

I understand that from that time things have only become significantly worse.