More than a quarter of knife-wielding criminals in West Midlands are repeat offenders

West Midlands Police took action against more than 1,100 people in the 12 months up to last September for carrying or threatening somebody with a knife.

Of those offenders, 300 of them – 26 per cent – had at least one previous knife-related offence under their belt, and 64 had committed at least three previous crimes.

It means the number of criminals caught in the West Midlands who are repeat offenders has risen by 40 per cent over the past three years.

Meanwhile in Staffordshire, of the 309 knife offenders caught, 102 – or 30 per cent – had been collared by the police in the past for other knife-related incidents.

Justice minister Rory Stewart said: “Knife crime has devastating consequences on families, children and communities. Offenders simply cannot go unpunished.

“These figures show we are catching and prosecuting more of those carrying knives and other weapons, and sending them to prison for longer.

“But we must do more, and through the Government’s serious violence strategy we are working to prevent young people from ever picking up a knife in the first place.”

The figures also revealed the shocking number of children who had been picked up by police for knife-related offences.

In Staffordshire, 77 children were charged with knife offences – an increase of 175 per cent over the last three years – while the number of knife-carrying under-16s in the West Midlands rose by 29 per cent over the same period to 325.

Patrick Green, chief executive of anti-knife charity the Ben Kinsella Trust, said the figures were ‘deeply depressing’ and showed enforcement cannot prevent knife crime on its own.

He said treating knife crime as a public health issue, which is beginning to be adopted in some parts of the country, could start to tackle the ‘underlying causes of knife crime’.

He added: “This indicates we cannot rely solely on prison if we are going to tackle the small but significant number of habitual re-offenders.

“These are people who are stuck in a spiral of violent crime. I’m confident that

Quarter of those caught with blades have prior offences a public health approach will work, it will stop the next youngsters getting caught in the cycle of violent crime.

“It won’t work immediately, but given time, as we’ve seen in Glasgow and US cities, if it’s properly funded it can be successful.”

Some of the figures released presented cause for optimism. The number of people cautioned or convicted in the West Midlands actually represented a decline of three per cent on the previous 12 months.

Police bosses also said the increase in repeat offenders in recent years – the 300 caught last year compared with 215 in 2014-15 – could be down to improved identification techniques.

The vast majority of offences related to possession of a knife, while 49 were for making threats with a knife.

A total of 345 offenders were sent to prison, 308 were given community orders and 162 received a caution in the West Midlands, while Staffordshire Police’s work led to 111 offenders going to prison, 82 receiving community orders, and 44 cautions.

Across England and Wales, 21,381 cases were dealt with by the criminal justice system – which is the highest number since 2010.