Knife crime statistics

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Statistics on the number of recorded crime offences in which a knife is used was published for the first time on 17 July 2008. For the selected serious violence categories, 7% or 37,830 offences involved knives in 2008/09.
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The offence coverage was extended from April 2008 to include other violent and sexual offences likely to involve knife use. The total numbers of offences involving knives recorded are not comparable between 2007/08 and 2008/09.
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During the period July to September 2009 there were 8,485 recorded offences involving knives or other sharp instruments, a 12% decrease on the previous year.
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With the exception of homicide the recorded crime statistics had not previously separately identify crimes involving knives. Provisional data shows there were 255 homicides using a sharp instrument in 2008/09, accounting for 39% of all homicides.
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According to the British Crime Survey (BCS) in 2008/09 a knife was used in 7% of all BCS incidents of violence, similar to the previous year’s proportion. The estimated number of BCS incidents of violence in which a knife was used has fallen from 181,000 in 2006/07 to 108,000 in 2008/09.
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According to the 2006 Offending Crime and Justice Survey 3% of young people had carried a knife in the previous 12 months. Males were significantly more likely than females to have carried a knife (5% and 2% respectively). The peak age of knife carrying was 14 to 17 (7%).
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NHS data suggests there were 4,914 people admitted to English hospitals in 2008/09 due to assault by a sharp object.
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In 2008 6,368 offenders were found guilty in England and Wales of carrying a knife in a public place or on school premises, 84% of people prosecuted. Of those offenders found guilty 21% were given a custodial sentence.
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