People who live in the UK, particuarly those in London, will know that there has been a lot of gun and knife crime recently. Lots of people have been stabbed or shot to death in the past couple of months, mostly in East London. Well it happened again last week in my road. A man was stabbed in the back down my road. Luckily the woman who lived in one of the houses near where he was stabbed is a midwife, so she was able to help whilst her son called an ambulance. As far as I know, he survived.

It just makes you realise how far this country, particuarly parts of London, has gone downhill. A recent study showed that crime has gone down, but I'm yet to see it. Where I live, Barking, was never a particuarly great place. The town centre, which is about 15 minutes walk from my house, is pretty much a no-go area at night. Not that you would go there anyway, the shops and the people aren't worth the trip. But recently, its got worse.

Problems seem to be increasing, and yet I don't see the police trying to reduce the problems. Only last week someone hung themselves in the local park. I must admit though, the local council are at least doing something. The alleyways behind the houses in the area now have gates on them, and the alleyway/footpath at the end of my road will hopefully be closed (pending the responce to letters sent around to nearby households).

But still, as with many of these crimes, you don't expect it to be near you. I mean, its down my road - 30 seconds away. I walk past the spot 2 or 3 times a day. It makes you think how close this sort of stuff can be to you. I only hope that further measures by the council help get rid of this sort of crime. Although, saying that, we will probably move as soon as my youngest sister gets into Secondary school.