November 04, 2007, Herald Sun:
A THIRD of all killings in Victoria are committed with knives - more than any other weapon.
And every day about eight knife crimes are reported to police. That is an average of one every three hours.
The spread of attacks with knives, swords, glasses and syringes is revealed in an analysis of police and statistical data.
Critics say Melbourne's "stab city" reputation has been festering for years, but is only now being taken seriously.
A Sunday Herald Sun investigation has found knives were used in 2742 offences in the past financial year. That is nearly 229 a month.
The extent of the problem was revealed as stabbings at weekend parties become regular occurrences. Teen gangs have taken to arming themselves with meat cleavers, daggers, samurai swords and hunting knives.
There were 1162 stabbings and assaults involving knives in the past financial year ...
Former Deputy Commissioner Bob Falconer, who was also WA chief commissioner, said the real knife figures would be even higher.
"There's a large number of gang and knife offences not reported by victims for a range of reasons," he said.
"There's a lot of knife wound injuries treated at hospitals and police wouldn't be told."
