At the moment, there’s a great deal of attention being paid to the UK’s significant levels of knife crime. Certainly, there has been significant media coverage of the obscene levels of violence now in our midst. In recent months, Security Management Today has also examined some of the ways in which knife culture affects the security industry.
The amount of injuries and deaths caused by knife crime clearly justifies both the public’s concerns and this increased media attention. Still, there are other forms of violence that continue to inflict misery on our society – and there are other instruments of aggression being used that we mustn’t ignore.
Saturday night on the High Street
Picture the scene… It’s Saturday night. The location? A thriving night club in the centre of a large city. The street outside is filled with people. Some are passing by. Others await taxis. Suddenly, noise can be heard. It’s not the sound of music. Rather, it’s the sound of an angry, drunken voice of someone shouting abuse. Several figures emerge from the club and it becomes clear what the shouting is about.
The situation is a typical one and passers-by don’t even look surprised. Two door supervisors are escorting an aggressive individual from the premises. The man being ‘helped’ through the doorway is firing vicious threats into the air. He tells the door supervisors he’s done nothing wrong, then he assured them he’ll make them pay for ‘roughing him up’.
Once outside the club, the man continues shouting at them. Amidst the swearing and the threats, the SIA-licensed door supervisors remain calm and professional. More explicit words are thrown their way. Then the man walks away. One way or another, though, the momentary feeling of peace will not last…
Sure enough, ten minutes later the angry man returns. This time he isn’t shouting. There is another difference, too. In his right hand he’s brandishing a brick. Seconds later he throws it. It happens quickly. It’s hard to tell if he was aiming for the club’s glass front or the security staff… either way, the next sound to be heard is shattering of glass.
Weapons used are less obvious
We need not go on with this description of an aggressive incident. This type of violence occurs frequently in cities and towns throughout the UK on a nightly basis. There’s probably a growing number of front line security staff who are more than familiar with the scenario, but there is a reason why I have set this somewhat grim scene.
Focus your attentions on the part about the brick and the shattered glass. Knife crime may be rampant, but sometimes the weapons used are less obvious. Sometimes, it’s quite unusual objects that are used by assailants.
In the situation described, the brick was used as a projectile weapon. Sometimes, objects such as this are spotted by chance and then used (though there may be premeditated situations, where the item is chosen specifically). Perhaps the aggressor has planned to smash a window to satisfy that part of their desire to express aggression or hostility. Alternatively, a robust, heavy item might be used for other criminal purposes, such as breaking and entering. Returning to this concept of the brick being used as a projectile weapon, those working in front line security positions have to be just as aware about this type of aggression as they do edged weapon scenarios.
Even if the aggressor in the above scenario was simply planning to vent his anger against the establishment itself. Even if he was simply planning to damage property, he still presented a threat to those around him. He still put lives in danger. The brick could have hit someone. The glass fragments may well have cut someone. So regardless of what he planned to do, the individual certainly posed a threat and the brick represented a weapon.
It’s also worth noting that for security staff across a range of environments, there may be situations where an individual frantically attempts to destroy property. Sometimes, the person trying to damage property does so in order to intimidate others. The destruction aimed at property could be one phase in a process of escalating aggression. Moreover, the attempt to destroy or damage property could be carried out with other designs in mind. Consider the intoxicated aggressor in a bar or club who attempts to smash a drinking glass or bottle in order to use it as a cutting implement.
Bottles as projectile weapons
Those who feel that an attack with a brick is going to be something of a rare occurrence should at least accept that bottle attacks are more prevalent. Again, the bottle makes for another projectile weapon that can be hurled at the targeted person from a distance. Alternatively, it can be used in a similar fashion to an edged weapon to cut or slash. It may also be used as an impact weapon, causing severe head injuries.
The thing with bottles is that they can be quite accessible in certain venues. Whereas someone holding a knife is recognised as a distinct, obvious threat, it may be somewhat harder to assess someone holding a bottle. In some ways, it seems ironic that outside many venues people may be searched to see if they are carrying weapons, but then once inside, people are provided with an object that could be used as a weapon! Of course, some venues may restrict the use of bottles within their premises and while this doesn’t guarantee peace, perhaps it does reduce the chances of certain types of violence from occurring. It’s hard to say.
Clearly, bottles are one of those items that can suddenly be used as a weapon. There are other items that can be turned into improvised weapons. The item itself doesn’t even have to be something that appears intimidating or especially menacing. Something like a chair or stool could be used. Then, of course, there are the more vindictive items that some aggressors may carry on them such as knuckle dusters or cro-bars.
There are some questions that need to be raised at this point. As police forces work actively to counter crime and more searches are carried out, if those found carrying a knife are treated much more harshly by the criminal justice system – and if it’s made far more difficult for young people to obtain a knife – will this in itself reduce the street-based violence? Or will aggressors look for other items to use as weapons? Is it possible that more and more improvised weapons – whether they be easy to conceal, everyday items or more obvious instruments of aggression – will start finding their way into today’s assault-based situations.
Adapting to enforcement trends
Just as the security industry has to adapt to changing times and threats both old and new, it’s also worth considering the fact that various criminals will also try and adapt to current enforcement trends. In security zones, where detection equipment is used to prevent dangerous items or possible weapons from being transported into an ‘at risk’ environment, personnel may have to be on the look-out for more deceptive weapons. After all, the weapon doesn’t have to be made of metal.
Airport security personnel are certainly among those who have to be aware of some of these devious, makeshift weapons, but even other security professionals involved in the detection process or those carrying out standard searches need to adapt to new trends as the ‘knife culture’ is tackled.
Just as Security Departments can share useful information about their experience in dealing with knife-based violence, it’s possible that they can also provide information concerning these other weapons. Through carrying out their search roles and through reporting various findings, front line staff can reveal useful information, gained out of actual experience. Those carrying out searches will be able to discover some of the ways improvised weapons are being concealed and the types of items being used.
Accident and Emergency Departments
While we have already considered some of the more typical areas where improvised weapons may be used, such as social venues and within the aviation environment, there are other places that should be mentioned. For example, in hospital environments some aggressors may try to use certain items as weapons. This could be the case in certain Accident and Emergency Departments. The aggressor could be a patient and they might be intoxicated.
With London’s new Mayor now in place, no doubt there will be those living and working within the Capital who are hoping Boris Johnson will take an active role in addressing the problem of street violence. There are already some signs that show the Mayor is ready to take action and he has been vocal in his condemnation of knife crime.
Street violence is an issue that affects everyone. It’s not just London that has to deal with this issue. The violence manifests all over the UK. For those working in the private security industry, it’s a problem that has to be addressed from various angles… Yes there is a knife problem at the moment, and a very serious one (despite the ‘official Government statistics’) but let’s not forget those other instruments of aggression.
In any event, the real problem isn’t the weapons but the people using them.
*Aran Dharmeratnam is a trainer specialising in self-defence tactics and is an active contributor to Security Management Today