Hundreds of weapons have been taken off the streets of Glasgow six months after police started using the web to crack down on gang violence.
Young trainee officers at Strathclyde Police search social networking sites for pictures of people posing with weapons, mainly knives.
Constable Holly McGee and Cadet Fraser Reed, both 18, carry out the work.
"We're looking for anyone who is brandishing offensive weapons or blades," Holly told Newsbeat.
"We take the date, the time, detail of what's in the photograph, [then] a copy of the photograph is printed out and thereafter it's all sent to the gangs task force unit."
That's when more experienced officers in the Violence Reduction Unit at Strathclyde Police get involved.
'The law's been broken'
The man in charge of this, Superintendent Bob Hamilton, says there are two ways of dealing with people once they've been tracked down.
If they were posing in a public place, like on the street or a park, the law has been broken and they'll be arrested.
Even when pictures are taken in private, though, which isn't technically breaking the law, he says the weapons are so dangerous his officers pay a visit to the people involved.
We have large kitchen knives, axes, samurai swords, baseball bats, a huge number and different type of weapons
Superintendent Bob Hamilton
"We show the parents their pictures," he explained, "recover the weapons and make sure they know that behaviour is unacceptable.
"We have large kitchen knives, axes, samurai swords, baseball bats, a huge number and different type of weapons - in simple terms weapons that can kill."
Superintendent Hamilton says Operation Access has been a complete success.
"We've questioned more than 400 people, most of them teenagers, as part of it and it's worked so well it will carry on indefinitely," he said.
Other forces from across the UK have also been in touch about the possibility of setting up similar operations.
Social networking sites Facebook and Bebo both say they're committed to improving safety for their members as well as helping cut crime.
how sad.....and people bitch here about gun control.........
Originally posted by: Atheus
By gangs they mean children, and by police they mean slightly older children:
"Constable Holly McGee and Cadet Fraser Reed, both 18"
Posting pics of yourself brandishing weapons on the net at a young age is kinda disturbing and I would think it deserves a phone call to the parents.
how sad.....and people bitch here about gun control.........
Not really the issue - I'd rather the cops targetted psycho kids with knives than responsible homeowners with firearms, and that seems to be what they're doing. On the other hand the number of kids-with-knives scare articles in our papers these days is getting ridiculous.
Originally posted by: Nik
Originally posted by: Atheus
By gangs they mean children, and by police they mean slightly older children:
"Constable Holly McGee and Cadet Fraser Reed, both 18"
Posting pics of yourself brandishing weapons on the net at a young age is kinda disturbing and I would think it deserves a phone call to the parents.
how sad.....and people bitch here about gun control.........
Not really the issue - I'd rather the cops targetted psycho kids with knives than responsible homeowners with firearms, and that seems to be what they're doing. On the other hand the number of kids-with-knives scare articles in our papers these days is getting ridiculous.
So taking a picture of yourself holding a knife makes you a psycho?
If I have pictures of my collection, does that make me a super psycho?
Originally posted by: Atheus
If you're 14 and taking pictures of yourself pretending to stab people that would be pretty weird yea. I hate to defend this bullshit big brother policing but it's not like they're raiding knife/gun collector clubs... it's just school kids...
Originally posted by: Nik
Originally posted by: Atheus
If you're 14 and taking pictures of yourself pretending to stab people that would be pretty weird yea. I hate to defend this bullshit big brother policing but it's not like they're raiding knife/gun collector clubs... it's just school kids...
Oh, wait, where was it said anywhere that it's required to pretend to stab someone in order to qualify for breaking the law? If you take a picture of yourself in public and you happen to have a knife in the picture, you're breaking the law.
The article even talks about practically going door-to-door talking to parents about the pictures they find on facebook and confiscating the weapons. So you can't even OWN knives?
What if I'm taking pictures of my swords and knives (because let's face it, that's what every teenage guy collects) to show other enthusiasts? OH NOES I'M BREAKING THE LAW!!
If you hate to defend these pricks, then don't.
Just because someone has a picture of them self with a knife doesn't make them a psycho. If that's not what you meant, don't make fucking ignorant generalizations.
Originally posted by: IGBT
..what if it's a butter knife??
kitchen knives not butterfly knivesOriginally posted by: pontifex
so how to they cut their food or does it all come pre-cut?
yeah people bitch about gun control here. we'll be where scotland is today if it goes through. doesn't sound like fun to me. hell, they're even taking baseball bats now...whats next, shoelaces? I hope the Scots like velcro!
i want to see said pics. i seriously want to see if this is really as ridiculous as it sounds.
bahahaha at the title - Internet knife gangs! lmao!!!
"dude, shut up! I really am dating a supermodel! Shut up or I'll e-cut you!"
Originally posted by: mozirry
what makes a knife offensive?
Originally posted by: Pacemaker
How are you supposed to cut a steak at a restaurant without "brandishing" a knife under this rule?
Even when pictures are taken in private, though, which isn't technically breaking the law, he says the weapons are so dangerous his officers pay a visit to the people involved.
We have large kitchen knives, axes, samurai swords, baseball bats, a huge number and different type of weapons
Superintendent Bob Hamilton
"We show the parents their pictures," he explained, "recover the weapons and make sure they know that behaviour is unacceptable.
Originally posted by: Atheus
Originally posted by: Pacemaker
How are you supposed to cut a steak at a restaurant without "brandishing" a knife under this rule?
Well obvuiusly there is no such rule
I believe it is also illegal to brandish weapons in your country, i.e, pointing it at someone or threatening someone while holding a weapon.
We have large kitchen knives, axes, samurai swords, baseball bats, a huge number and different type of weapons
Superintendent Bob Hamilton
And, how many 2 handed Braveheart swords, or katanas.Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
Originally posted by: mozirry
what makes a knife offensive?
I'm guessing they're referring to combat style knives and the weird knives you find at the Persian and self-defense stores at the mall.
Wonder how many Krull Glaives they've confiscated.