Official figures show 21,484 offences were recorded across England and Wales in 2018

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The criminal justice system dealt with the highest number of knife and offensive weapon offences in nearly a decade last year, official figures have shown.

In 2018, 21,484 knife and offensive weapon offences were recorded, the most dealt with since 2009, when 25,103 offences were registered, according to the Ministry of Justice.

The figures come after the chancellor, Philip Hammond, handed an extra £100m to police forces in England and Wales after a spate of fatal stabbings led to a renewed focus on the response to knife crime and fresh debate over police resources.

The justice minister, Rory Stewart, said: “Knife crime destroys lives and shatters communities, and this government is doing everything in its power to tackle its devastating consequences.

“Sentences for those carrying knives are getting tougher – they are more likely to be sent straight to prison, and for longer – than at any time in the last decade.

Revealed: 700 child knife crime victims in West Midlands last year Read more

“But we are doing more – yesterday the government committed a further £100m to tackle knife crime, while our serious violence strategy works to prevent young people picking up a knife in the first place.”

Total funding for forces in England and Wales fell by 19% in real terms from 2010-11 to 2018-19, according to the National Audit Office. Officer numbers have dropped by nearly 20,000 since 2010.

Elsewhere, the figures show offenders are now more likely to receive an immediate custodial sentence for a knife and offensive weapon offence.

In 2018, 37% of knife and offensive weapon offences ended in an immediate custodial sentence, compared with 20% in 2008.

The average length of the custodial sentences received also increased over the same period, from 5.3 months to 8.1 months.

For 72% of offenders it was their first knife or offensive weapon possession offence, a proportion that has been decreasing and is at its lowest level since the release of the statistics began in 2008, when it was 80%.

The Liberal Democrats’ justice spokesperson, Wera Hobhouse, said: “Both the justice secretary and the prisons minister have admitted that short prison sentences don’t work and actually increase the risk of reoffending. So why are so many young people still being sent to prison for a few months for carrying knives?

“These pointless sentences do nothing to deter young people and offer no chance of rehabilitating them. Instead, they cost millions and only worsen the crisis of overcrowding in our prisons.

“The Liberal Democrats demand better. The government must urgently bring forward legislation to end pointless short-term sentences and take real action to prevent knife crime: more police officers, more youth services and a proper public health approach.”

According to the statistics, the criminal justice system dealt with 13,555 offences of possession of an article with a blade or point last year. In addition, there were 7,016 cases of an individual being found with an offensive weapon, and 913 in which a blade or weapon was used to make threats against others.

The combined total of 21,484 is the highest since 2009, when the figure was more than 25,000.

In 4,430 instances in 2018, 21% of the total, the offender was aged 10 to 17.

The report also shows that custodial sentences for knife or offensive weapons crimes are at the highest level since 2008.

In 2018, almost 8,000 (37%) offences resulted in immediate custody, compared with 5,734 (20%) in 2008.

The proportion of cases leading to a caution fell from 30% in 2008 to 11% last year.

Nearly 4,000 offences were dealt with by a suspended sentence, while just over 5,000 resulted in a community punishment.

The figures also showed repeat offenders were more likely to go to prison, although more than a third of those sentenced under a “two strikes” regime were spared immediate custody last year.

In 2015, minimum sentences were introduced for those aged 16 and over who were convicted of a second, or subsequent charge of possession of a knife or offensive weapon.

Diana Fawcett, the chief officer at the charity Victim Support, said: “It’s horrifying to see knife crime offences at the highest levels in a decade, which is yet more evidence that violent crime is an increasing problem that must be tackled urgently.

“Families and communities are being devastated by knife crime and it is the responsibility of all agencies to come together to solve this.”

In the 12 months to March last year, the number of fatal stabbings in England and Wales reached the highest level since records began more than 70 years ago.