Young people who carry knives will be made to visit hospitals where stabbing victims are treated, in a bid to shock them into changing their behaviour.Regardless of the effect it might have on the future behavior of offenders (which I imagine would be negligible), if you're lying in hospital having recently been stabbed, I would have thought the last thing you'd want is a bunch of young offenders on knife crime charges at your bedside. Still, what do I know, I'm not a politician.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said seeing "gruesome" injuries would be a tougher deterrent than sending all knife carriers in England and Wales to jail.
Of course, if this idea works out it could usefully be extended to other categories of offenders. So, instead of sending convicted murderers to prison we could just give them a guided tour of the local morgue. And if that doesn't deter them, send them back for another visit. Maybe they'll get the idea, eventually.
