Knife crime in England and Wales: Key numbers and trends
Knife crime in England and Wales: Key numbers and trends
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Knife crime offences recorded by police forces in England and Wales have risen in recent years and are almost back at levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic. Here are the key numbers and trends in the latest knife crime statistics, which were published on Thursday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
– How many offences are being recorded?. Some 55,008 offences were recorded by forces in England and Wales in the 12 months to September 2024. This is up 4% from 52,969 offences in the previous 12 months, and is almost level with the 55,170 offences in the pre-Covid year ending March 2020.
– What are the figures for different types of violent knife crime?. There has been a rise in the number of robberies involving a knife or sharp instrument, jumping from 21,588 in the year to September 2023 to 23,390 in the year to September 2024, a rise of 8% – though the total is still lower than before the pandemic, with 24,419 recorded in 2019/20.
Knife-enabled homicides stood at 228 in the 12 months to September 2024, down 14% from 264 in the previous year and lower than pre-pandemic figures (265 in 2019/20). The number of offences classed as knife-enabled threats to kill have risen slightly, up 2% year-on-year from 5,584 to 5,674.
Both of these totals are higher than those recorded before the pandemic (4,935 in 2019/20). – What are the figures for possession of knives?. The number of offences classed as “possession of an article with a blade or point” stood at 27,945 in the 12 months to September 2024, down 1% year-on-year from 28,181.
