Knife crime in detail

Drop the Knife

According to the Office of National Statistics, in the year to September 2018, there were just under 40,000 recorded offences involving the use of a knife or sharp instrument in England and Wales. That’s the highest level recorded over a year since figures were able to be compared in 2011.

What counts as knife crime?

’Knife crimes’ can fall under a number of offences, depending if they’re recorded as involving a “knife or sharp instrument”. The ones where this is measured include homicide, attempted murder, threats to kill, various kinds of assault, robbery, rape and sexual assault.

About half of knife offences in 2017/18 were a form of assault that caused injury, and about 43% were robberies. Homicides account for less than 1% of all recorded offences. A few years ago, the figures were the other way round—with robberies being more common than assaults.

The available figures suggest that when they happen recorded knife crimes are becoming more severe, though that may partly be the product of improved recording practices again.

At the same time, sharp instruments account for between 30% and 40% of all homicides, making them the most common single method of killing.

It’s also a crime to possess an offensive weapon unlawfully in public. In 2017, there were almost 21,000 offences dealt with in the criminal justice system for possessing a knife or sharp instrument.

Convictions are more likely to result in a custodial sentence

Looking just at offences involving possessing a knife, in 2017 about 63% of convictions resulted in a custodial sentence of some form. This has been on a rising trend since 2008, when 42% of offences resulted in custody.

The average sentence length for these offences is 7.5 months, up from 5.3 months in 2008.

(Information provided by the charity Full Fact)