"Knife attacks left eight people dead and two fighting for their lives in just two days of bloody mayhem.

Four of the killings took place over 24 hours in three miles of each other in London. There were two more each in the Midlands and North West.

The capital's victims included a youth of 19, the 20th teenager to be murdered in London this year.

In addition to the grim death toll a boy of 15 - possibly sliced with a knife or cleaver - and a man stabbed in the back, stomach and chest are fighting for life.

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The attacks came amid mounting public concern and a major Mirror campaign aimed at ending the scourge of knife crime blighting the nation.

<balance of article at link - please don't post any more than an excerpt of a copyright piece of text - http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstor...9520-20640644/ >

Goodbye London!!
Hello, letting my teenager out at night.

Following the Canada Day celebrations in McBride, 4 teenage girls were 'spoken to' by RCMP officers after they trampled flowers in 3 front yards... rumours of a vandalism spree quickly spread throughout the town. What is the world coming to

We are just so pleased to be bringing our family up in Canada. I know what the streets of the UK are like as I policed them for years. When we first bought our home in Okotoks near Calgary, I was concerned about the walking path that ran along the back of our house. Many communities are linked together by miles of walking paths and green space including Okotoks and there are childrens play areas dotted along the walking paths which aren't vandelised and covered in graffitti. My main concern about the walking path was that there would be groups of youths hanging around on the paths after dark drinking etc (which used to happen on the walking path behind us in the UK!). We have now been here for two years and my fears about the path were unfounded! lots of walkers, joggers, people walking their dogs etc.
I truely believe that we are bringing our children up in a great community enviroment, which is awesome.
I do not have rose tinted specs as I have policed both in the UK and downtown Calgary and are pleased that we now live in Canada.
Eddie.

http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/Front/9007579.html
you might find the comments following the article interesting

I believe Canada is a lot safer hence why I am moving there but I would add to the mix that according to Scotland Yard figures the number of stabbings are running about the usual level and it is only the fact that the media has decided to report every stabbing that is making people more aware. I know every stabbing is a disgrace but think back 12 months would a teenager being stabbed to death in London/west mids/glasgow get on the national news, I think not.

They do have guns and knives in Canada you know!! I recall recently there were 5 separate stabbing/gunshot incidents in Toronto in one weekend, and in the same weekend, two shootings and one stabbing in Vancouver.

Unfortunately, it happens in most cities around the world these days. If my only motivation for leaving London were to get away from violent crime then personally I'd just move to somewhere else in the UK to save the upheaval/culture shock/cost etc of emigrating abroad.

There certainly appears to have been a marked increase in violent crime in Calgary since we first contemplated moving here ..... having said that though, the vast majority, and particularly the shootings, would appear to be linked with drugs/gang activity, and not the run-of-the-mill random thuggery that would seem to be rife in many areas of the UK.

I certainly do not believe that many kids feel the need to walk around the schools and streets armed or feeling threatened.

Actually what bothers me is that there is a rapid increase of graffitti around, ..... not on the scale of Rome, say, where anything that didn't move for 12 hours would be painted .... but still, to me it is indicative of a decline in the level of respect for property which leads to decline in other areas......

I'm not so sure about that.

The Guardian has been focussing on fatal teenage stabbings and they have, so far, been ahead of the normal rate - something like 66% of last year's total in half the time. And that was before the latest spate. I can't remember whether it was just London or nationally. But there seems to be a trend.

Maybe every one wouldn't have been reported a year ago, but if the Guardian is anything to go by, there has been an increase if only in teenagers.

This is something that concerns me too.

We have a mail drop box behind our property that is used to store mail for our mail carrier, it is now covered with tagging.

Interestingly adjacent fences and garages are graffiti free.

Crime is very bad in Toronto..Killing, shooting, stabbings...etc...same drill just different day....Its everywhere i'm afraid. Toronto is no safer at night in some parts...

Thing is, in Canada you can find whole suburban neighbourhoods that are pretty much free of all of these problems. These are the kind of communities with no sidewalks/paths and a 5 mile drive to the nearest liquor store.

choose your poison.

Or they can be like here where there are sidewalks-a-plenty, crossing guards and crossings everywhere, local shops just minutes walk from home, 6 buses every hour from a bus stop 5 minutes away, $2 to town and big shopping centre, cinemas etc etc