Knife crime: Offences hit highest level since 2009, official figures reveal

One in five culprits caught threatening people or carrying knives are under 18

Knife and weapon offences are at the highest level for nine years in England and Wales, new government figures show.

In 2018, almost 21,500 crimes were dealt with by the criminal justice system – the largest number since 2009.

One in five of the culprits were children and almost two-thirds of cases did not result in an immediate prison term.

Rory Stewart, the justice minister, 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.”

The figures were revealed amid national outcry over a string of brutal stabbings, seeing teenagers including Jodie Chesney killed in a spate of attacks.

After repeated calls from police leaders for increased funding following the loss of 20,000 officers since 2010, the government on Tuesday announced an extra £100m for areas worst affected by violent crime.

In his Spring Statement, chancellor Philip Hammond said the money would be ringfenced “to pay for increased police presence and patrolling to make our streets safer”, as well as new violent crime reduction units to undertake prevention work.

Home secretary Sajid Javid said he had listened to police chiefs and realised that reducing stabbings “requires action on many fronts”.

“Law enforcement plays a key role – and it is clear from speaking to police leaders in recent weeks that they need an immediate increase in resources,” he added.

The outgoing chair, Sara Thornton, of the National Police Chiefs’ Council said the funding would help forces’ immediate response to violence by increasing the number of officers available for targeted patrols and stop and search.

“Police tactics alone will not prevent violence, however, and the solutions must involve action from government, education, health, social services and communities themselves,” she said.

The Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said the funding was only a “short-term fix”.

Chair John Apter said: “Police officers who are at the forefront of tackling this epidemic are already run ragged ... we still urgently need additional resources to solve this issue in the long run.

“The government must make a significant investment in the spending review to give police the long-term boost they need.”

Diane Abbott MP, Labour’s shadow home secretary, said: “Surely the Tories don’t need any further evidence that not enough is being done to tackle knife crime?

“The government must stop just talking about a public health approach and actually adopt one.

“This includes properly funding the police, ending their damaging cuts to public services and reinvesting in youth services to provide young people with genuine hope for their futures.”

The Ministry of Justice said people carrying and using knives are now more likely to be jailed, and for longer than they were imprisoned a decade ago.

Prison sentences are at the highest level on record, with 37 per cent of offences resulting in jail compared to just a fifth in 2008. The average sentence is now eight months.

Meanwhile, the proportion of offenders receiving a caution has plummeted from a third to 11 per cent in the same period.

Just under two-thirds of knife and offensive weapon offences included in the statistics were possession, and others included making threats.

The figures do not include stabbings and murders, which are most commonly recorded as attempted murder or homicide.

The increase in prison sentences for carrying knives comes after the government introduced a 2015 law meaning courts must jail anyone caught with a weapon twice for at least six months.

But the current justice secretary, David Gauke, has attacked the use of short sentences and called for them to be scrapped in favour of “community” punishments.

In a speech last month he said the average terms handed out by courts in England and Wales had been rising for all crimes, and the prison population has doubled since the early 1990s to 83,000.

“I do not want to reverse the tougher sentencing approach for serious offences, but equally we should be extremely cautious about continuing to increase sentences as a routine response to concerns over crime,” Mr Gauke said.

He told The Independent that he hoped judges would change the way they punish offenders but that he would legislate “if it is necessary”.