Ruth Money: Harder line needed to prevent madness

Too much crime is committed by prolific offenders with long rap sheets who are rarely made to face up to real consequences of their crimes. Photo / File

Police broadly do the best they can, but are continually let down by soft-touch judges and the mental health system.

Both continue to let dangerous, recidivist or mentally disturbed offenders back on to the streets we all share. People who intentionally carry knives do so for one purpose - and that is never legal.

We are hearing every day about people being killed, injured or maimed by knives.

We should look to the UK where the sentence for knife crime has been doubled. That combined with judge accountability for their decisions would assist in deterring this madness.

We are campaigning for similar measures here before it gets worse.

Too much crime is committed by prolific offenders with long rap sheets who are rarely made to face up to real consequences of their crimes.

A significant amount of crime is also committed by individuals with manageable mental health issues, but too many do not get the help they need.