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Police try to solve domestic violence by giving victims blunt kitchen knives

There are so many problems with this.

Photo of Siobhan Ball

Siobhan Ball

police domestic violence knives

Police in Nottinghamshire, England, believe they’ve found the solution to domestic violence, British news station ITV reports. The brilliant idea? Replace the kitchen knives in victims’ homes with blunt ones.

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The program will provide “no-point” knives to victims who report being threatened or attacked with a knife in their home.

“We are trialing it to see if it makes a difference,” said Nottinghamshire Police Superintendent Matt McFarlane, according to ITV. “Sometimes you have to trial things to see if they work. Anything that stops someone being seriously injured is a good idea.”

But people on Twitter, understandably, do not think it’s a good idea.

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https://twitter.com/HalcyonEmber/status/1138822813157081088

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While kitchen knives are indeed a potential weapon, so is basically everything else.

https://twitter.com/MegaraFurie/status/1138835206444670976

https://twitter.com/jojowsn295/status/1138764487429885952

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In fact, blunt objects, which include fists, are more likely to be weaponized against victims than kitchen knives. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, only 19% of domestic violence involves a weapon at all.

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David Spicer, whose Twitter bio says he’s a psychotherapeutic counselor, points out that there’s no such thing as a blunt knife if you use it with sufficient force.

https://twitter.com/calmspice/status/1138793750568869888

Others suggested that doing so will cause more damage than if a sharp blade was used to begin with.

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It’s also not that hard to find or even make a sharp object if you want one, even if you no longer have knives laying around.

https://twitter.com/tasbeachmum/status/1138753385295781889

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https://twitter.com/KirstyDillon/status/1138870564976807937

Or to go out and buy one if you notice the cops have been around and blunted yours.

https://twitter.com/Boymum1/status/1139138581090492421

Many are questioning why, if there’s enough evidence to replace someone’s kitchenware, police aren’t just arresting the abuser instead.

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https://twitter.com/Melkur_Mistress/status/1139081038213386240

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Others are pointing out that kitchen knives are sharp for a reason, and that trying to cook with a blunt knife is actually dangerous in and of itself.

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So far, the program is still in the trial stage and only being tried in one small area. Hopefully, that means a better solution will be thought up in the meantime. 

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H/T ITV

 
The Daily Dot