Confronting knife crime - Why have we become so very violent?

IN the nine days since Mayo-based Garda Daryl Mullen suffered a life-threatening knife attack there have been three knife-related deaths and a series of other lethal but thankfully non-fatal attacks around the country.

The figures are staggering and show an escalation in violence and aggression – whatever their source – that demands our full attention.

The weekend tragedy in Bray, where two young men died and another two people suffered very serious injuries, and the spate of stabbings and assaults in Mayo, underline how commonplace the use of knives is.