Knife crime is a common and worrying concern throughout the UK. As a crime that can be particularly impactful upon young people, we take a look at the statistics surrounding knife crime in the UK.
The number of knife and sharp instrument homicides in the year ending March 2018 was the highest since records began in 1946, according to the Office of National Statistics. 285 such murders were recorded in England and Wales – 17 more than the previous high in 2008.
In the year leading up to March 2018, Yorkshire and the Humber had the second-highest rate of knife crime offences relative to population in the country, behind only London in first and ahead of the West Midlands in third. For every 100,000 people in the region, there were 79 knife offences committed during the period.
Over 21,000 people in England and Wales were found to be possessing a knife in the year ending September 2018. Of those, 4,459 – around 20% – were aged under 18, the highest number since 2010.
Figures from NHS England found that more than 1,000 people aged between 10 and 19 were treated in hospital for knife wounds in 2017/18 –that represents an increase of 54% since 2012/13. According to a trauma surgeon at The Royal London Hospital, adolescent knife attack victims were once “an occasional occurrence” but have become “the norm”.
In an attempt to stem the increase in knife crime, punishments handed to offenders have become more severe over the last ten years. Since 2008, prison sentences for knife attackers have risen by an average of three months and the percentage of offenders jailed has increased from 20% to 37%.
Based in Yorkshire, Grahame Stowe Bateson is the region’s leading private client firm and are experts in criminal law in Leeds and beyond. To find out more about our services, get in touch by calling 0113 246 8163.
