LONG, pointed kitchen knives should be banned in efforts to cut violent crime and stabbing deaths, doctors said today.
Violent crime is rising across the UK, with figures for London showing a 17.9% increase between 2003 and 2004.
A group of London accident and emergency doctors, writing in the British Medical Journal, said at least half of stabbing cases involved kitchen knives.
They said banning the sale of long, pointed kitchen knives would help cut the number of stabbing deaths.
The doctors said a quarter of 16-year-old boys reported carrying knives or other weapons, with a fifth admitting attacking someone.
In the first two weeks of 2005 alone, 15 murders in the UK were linked to stabbings, as well as 16 other non-fatal attacks.
The doctors said kitchen knives were easy to get hold of, making it unnecessary to look for another lethal weapon.
