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Knife crime is a persistent and worrying concern, especially as it impacts particularly upon young people and the disadvantaged, and various remedies have been tried over the years.

Recorded crime

In the year ending March 2019, there were around 47,000 (selected) offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in England and Wales. Recent trends in offences have been affected by undercounting in the Greater Manchester Police Force area prior to 2018/19. Excluding or including figures from Greater Manchester, this is the highest number of offences since the year ending March 2011, the earliest point at which comparable data are available. This is directly related with improvements in recording practices.

Homicide

In the year ending March 2018 there were 285 homicides (currently recorded) using a sharp instrument, including knives and broken bottles, accounting for 39% of all homicides – a rise from the 212 recorded in the year ending March 2017.

Knife crime by police force area

London recorded the highest rate of 169 offences involving a knife per 100,000 population 2Fin 2018/19, a slight increase on a rate of 167 in 2017/18. Gwent had the lowest rate of 24 offences per 100,000 individuals (up from 19 in 2017/18).

Proven offences and offenders

In the year ending June 2019, there were 22,306 disposals given for possession of a knife or offensive weapon. Juveniles (aged 10-17) were the offenders in 20% of cases.

Hospital admissions

There were 5,149 finished consultant episodes (FCE) recorded in English hospitals in 2018/19 due to assault by a sharp object. This was an increase of nearly 2% compared to 2017/18 and 41% higher than in 2014/15.

 

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