Zero tolerance on knife crime

THERE is obviously a problem here that is beyond those that run the country ('In the shadow of the blade', Insight, July 20). Politicians live in leafy suburbs, miles away from the problem. They don't have to encounter these yobs whenever they visit the shops or walk through their local park. They don't face the stares and the comments from these people, designed as a challenge to anyone that would oppose them. It's ironic that the people that vote these people in

One thing is for sure; unless the politicians now grasp the nettle and do something concrete about this problem, things will only get worse. Zero tolerance is required here. More severe sentencing is also required for those caught with a knife without good reason, and prisons need to become prisons, not holiday camps.

Graham Barnes, Gravesend