, Labour’s Shadow Home
Secretary, responding to latest knife
possession statistics, said:
“There is no evidence in this data that the government’s
new approach to tackling knife crime is having a positive
effect. The number of offences is rising while fewer
offenders are facing jail, clear signs of failure.
“Rising knife crime undermines all the Tory claims on law
and order. Unfortunately, until they tackle the crises they
created through cuts to policing, schools, to mental health and
drug services, there can be little confidence of any major
improvement.”
Ends
Notes to editors
· In
the year ending September 2019 nearly 22,300 knife and offensive
weapon offences were formally dealt with by the CJS - highest
since year ending September 2009 – mainly driven by an increase
in possession offences.
· However,
the number of weapons possession offenders jailed fell to 7,728
from 8,050 in 2018.
· Whilst
the proportion of first time offenders has fallen (70% in year
ending September 2019 compared to 80% in year ending September
2019), there has been an increase in the number of offenders
dealt with for their first knife and offensive weapons offence in
each of the last 6 years.
· Since
the year ending September 2014 both the number and proportion of
offenders dealt with who had one or more previous knife and
offensive weapons possession offences increased year on year,
rising from 25% or 3,770 occasions to 29% or 5,819
occasions.
· In
the year ending September 2019 around a third (36%) of repeat
offenders did not receive an immediate custodial sentence despite
the Conservatives’ promise to jail all repeat knife
offenders.
MoJ, Knife and Offensive Weapon Sentencing Statistics
year ending September 2019, 16 Jan 2020, https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/knife-and-offensive-weapon-sentencing-statistics-july-to-september-2019
