SoylentNews

Knives are too Sharp and Filing Down their Points is Solution to Soaring Violent Crime, Judge Says

posted by martyb on Friday June 01 2018, @04:04AM   
from the pointed-question dept.

An Anonymous Coward writes:

A judge has proposed a nationwide programme to file down the points of kitchen knives as a solution to the country’s soaring knife crime epidemic.

Last week in his valedictory address, retiring Luton Crown Court Judge Nic Madge spoke of his concern that carrying a knife had become routine in some circles and called on the Government to ban the sale of large pointed kitchen knives.

[...] He said laws designed to reduce the availability of weapons to young would-be offenders had had “almost no effect”, since the vast majority had merely taken knives from a cutlery drawer.

[...] He asked: “But why we do need eight-inch or ten-inch kitchen knives with points?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/05/27/knives-sharp-filing-solution-soaring-violent-crime-judge-says/

---

Original Submission

• Re:Slice and dice (Score: 2) by Wootery on Saturday June 30 2018, @04:23PM

  by Wootery (2341) on Saturday June 30 2018, @04:23PM (#700709)

  And of course, if a system doesn't fully deter crime, then it is not maximal and hence, not ideal.

  Wrong. As I have already explained to you, we are discussing an ideal system of deterrence, which is more constrained than merely a crime-prevention system.

  The word 'deterrence' exists for a reason. It has a specific meaning.

  Deterrence isn't the only means of reducing crime, and deterrence alone cannot reduce crime to zero. I have repeatedly explained this point: a crime of passion cannot be prevented by deterrence, as we aren't dealing with a rational actor. If your system simply jumps in and tasers our would-be-criminal, that isn't deterrence, that's force-based prevention.

  You're begging the question by assuming that a perfect (or "ideal") system is not perfect and going from there.

  Wrong. I am using 'ideal system of deterrence' in the sense of a system of deterrence that cannot be further improved, without making into something other than a system of deterrence. You are using it in an imprecise sense where it must by definition reduce crime to zero, whether or not it still actually qualifies as a system of deterrence (as opposed to some other kind of crime-prevention system).

  If you have a system and it allows for flaws that the system is intended to prevent, then it is not perfect. That's all there is to it.

  Wrong.

  Consider a museum with two ticket gates, each manned by an attendant. Suppose the first attendant is perfect, and never lets anyone through without buying a ticket. Suppose the second attendant is imperfect, and sometimes lets people through who haven't bought a ticket.

  Your position is that Well the first attendant isn't really perfect, as people are still getting into the museum without buying a ticket. This reasoning is clearly unsound. Only the first attendant is perfect, not the system as a whole.

  This mistake even has a name: the fallacy of composition. [logicallyfallacious.com]

  You already moved the goalposts by introducing constraints on the operation of the system.

  It's not moving the goalposts, it's clear thinking. We were discussing systems of deterrence specifically.

  Parent

  Starting Score:	1		point
  Karma-Bonus Modifier		+1
  Total Score:		2