Use khukuris to beat machetes into ploughshares

Let’s see just how brave a machete makes a young gang member feel when he is faced with a Gurkha carrying a khukuri

“Why don’t we intervene in Britain,” asked Peter Hitchens in his most recent column for the Mail on Sunday? If we are happy to intervene in foreign countries to shield their people from the Taliban, Isis and Bashar al-Assad, why can we not have the army patrol our own streets to protect us from the increasing threat of knife-wielding thugs and drug dealers? Beneath the bitter irony and the hint of Jonathan Swift was a good question. Why are those who seem so keen to send other people’s sons and daughters on civilising adventures to places like Afghanistan so reluctant to take the steps required to civilise our own streets?

There is much debate about the underlying causes of knife crime and the increasingly visible gang culture in Britain, but whatever the reasons for it, we can say for certain that the young people involved appear to have internally justified their actions and believe they can get away with them. Or in fewer words: there is insufficient respect for the law and for law enforcement to discourage gang members and thugs.

While we engage in the customary hand wringing and partisan bickering about how we can stop these young men developing the attitudes and lifestyles that lead to crime in the first place, perhaps we could therefore do something to discourage them from committing these acts, which are so devastating for the victims and the communities involved? Some might argue that having the Parachute Regiment or the Royal Marine Commandos patrolling the streets would be an overreaction. Others would contend that the army, already undermanned and overstretched, can hardly afford to take on domestic policing duties.

So here’s a compromise: set up a dedicated police force of Gurkhas drawn from former members of the UK Army’s Brigade of Gurkhas.

The Gurkhas have served the Crown with distinction and loyalty for over 200 years. Their ferocity, bravery and martial competency are renowned. For instance, in Afghanistan in February 2010, Dipprasad Pun of the Royal Gurkha Rifles was stationed on the roof of a compound when he noticed a Taliban insurgent trying to plant a bomb at the gate. Sgt Pun was immediately attacked by as many as thirty insurgents using AK-47s and rocket propelled grenades. Yet he single handedly fought off the assault, moving his position to fend off attacks from three sides, firing over 400 rounds, throwing seventeen grenades, detonating a mine, and at one point, when his rifle jammed, even throwing his machine gun tripod at an insurgent. For this, he was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, Britain’s second highest medal for bravery in the field of battle.

That Sgt Pun was not awarded the Victoria Cross demonstrates the level of bravery a serviceman must exhibit to receive Britain’s highest medal for valour. Since it was introduced in 1856, the Victoria Cross has been awarded only 1,356 times, of which Gurkhas have accounted for twenty-six – an astonishing proportion given their numbers in relation to the British Armed Forces as a whole. Shamefully, Britain has not always treated our loyal Gurkha servicemen with the decency they deserve. The latest outrage is the difference between the standard army pension and that offered to veterans of the Brigade of Gurkhas.

So let us ask the Gurkhas to serve Britain one more time, and let us give those who presently serve in the Brigade of Gurkhas, or have recently finished serving, the option of a well-paying job in Britain. Gurkhas already serve Singapore with distinction in a police role. Let us give them stab proof vests, a uniform, and ask them to patrol the streets of British cities. Give them the power of arrest and to stop and search suspects. Then, let’s see just how brave a machete makes a young gang member feel when he is faced with a Gurkha carrying a khukuri. It is fair to guess that many of the thugs and gang members who currently blight our cities would quickly learn that it is not a bet worth making, and knife crime would thus plummet. Meanwhile, the regular presence of disciplined, fit and smart men would provide the lads currently in gangs decent masculine role models – likely for the first time in their lives.

Such a Gurkha police force might even help Britain rediscover that physically tough men patrolling the streets and deterring crime is a far more effective way of building a peaceful society than rainbow coloured cars racing to harass people who have used rude words on the internet.