Knife Crime - The Reality

KNIFE crime in England and Wales has leapt by as much as 90% in two years in some areas, according to new police data

In fact, the most common weapon used in a violent crime in England and Wales is not a gun - but a knife.

A TERRIFYING knife crime now takes place on the streets of Britain every EIGHT MINUTES

One in five MUGGERS now threatens victims with knives.

Street ROBBERIES in which a knife was used soared from 25,500 in 2005 to 64,000 in the year to April 2007.

On average a shocking 175 people are robbed at knifepoint every day up from 110 last year and 69 two years ago.

Areas with the biggest rises include Devon and Cornwall, Lincolnshire and Bedfordshire - all of which also saw steep increases in overall violence. The highest rise in knife crime was recorded by Nottinghamshire police. There, offences involving blades went up from 338 in 2002 to 650 last year - a rise of 92%. Last year there were 223 muggings using knives in the county a rise of 43% since 2002.

In Nottinghamshire the force said some criminals may be choosing knives rather than guns because of higher mandatory sentences for possession of firearms. Gun crime in the county has fallen by 30% in the past year.

At present, carrying a knife with a blade longer than 3in can lead to a four-year prison term or a fine. This contrasts with illegal possession of firearms, which carries a jail term of 5-10 years.

Recent studies have shown that there has been an increase in the number of knives being taken to school. According to a study by the Youth Justice Board, 300,000 of the country's 10m pupils regularly carry such weapons in school.

Areas with highest knife crime increases

Nottinghamshire: 2002-338; 2004-650; Rise 92%

Bedfordshire: 2002-79; 2004-113; Rise 43%

Devon & Cornwall: 2002-108; 2004-152; Rise 41%

Lincolnshire : 2002-402; 2004-497; Rise 24%

The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King's College London recently conducted some deeper analysis of the available Home Office's statistics.

It concluded that between 22,000 and 57,900 young people could have been victims of knife crime in 2004. However, it says without better official data it is impossible to know for sure - and that we need that data to improve the public debate.

Knife violence in Britain is far worse than official statistics suggest, with almost 14,000 people taken to hospital for injuries caused by knives and other sharp weapons.

According to the latest Department of Health statistics, an average of 38 victims of knife wounds are admitted to accident and emergency departments across the country every day.

The latest statistics from hospitals in England alone highlight an 88 per cent jump in the number of children suffering stab wounds - from 95 in 2002-03 to 179 in 2006-07. And among 16- to 18-year-olds, there has been a 75 per cent rise from 429 to 752.

Most were not jailed, with just 14 per cent ending up in prison for little more than three months on average. Suspended sentences leapt from nine in 1997 to 552 in 2006

Dr Tunji Lasoye, A&E consultant at King's College Hospital, London said: "In a nutshell the numbers of stab victims coming into A&E have gone up. It used to be that we would see isolated cases at weekends, but now it is nearly every day of the week. And the age of the victims has gone down. We used to see people in their early 20s; now they are in their mid-teens. And 10 per cent of the victims we see now are girls, which wasn't the case a few years ago."