Suspended sentences for blade possession hit decade high, figures show
Possession of a bladed article made up the highest proportion (68.5%) of all knife and offensive weapon offences recorded in latest Government data.
The number of suspended sentences handed to people convicted of having a knife in England and Wales has reached its highest point in a decade, new figures show.
A total of 3,877 convictions for possession of an article with a blade or point led to a suspended sentence in the year to September 2024, up from 3,619 in the previous 12 months and more than double the 1,616 in the year ending September 2014.
Quarterly figures have also hit a new high, with 1,017 in July-September, according to data published on Thursday by the Ministry of Justice.
Possession of a bladed article made up the highest proportion (68.5%) of all knife and offensive weapon offences recorded over the latest year.The figures come as ministers announced a raft of anti-knife crime measures to tackle the supply of knives online, including making retailers report bulk or suspicious sales to police, and increasing the jail sentence for selling weapons to children, or illegal blades such as zombie knives, to two years.
The data also shows the number of fines for blade possession has fallen to a new 10-year low, with just 190 handed out in the 12 months to September 2024, down from 247 in the previous year.
There were 455 fines in the year to September 2014, when current figures began.
The number of knife convictions leading to an immediate custodial sentence remains lower than before the pandemic, with 4,223 in the 12 months to September 2024, compared with a peak of 5,669 in the year ending September 2019.
It comes amid a record-high crown court backlog in England and Wales, which has almost doubled in five years to 73,105 at the end of September last year.
The total number of offences for possessing a bladed article handled by the justice system in England and Wales stood at 13,786, up slightly year-on-year from 13,700 but lower than 14,279 in the 12 months to September 2019.
A Government spokesperson said: “We will pursue every avenue to protect young people. This is why we are bringing in Ronan’s Law to stop knives from being sold illegally online, why we have banned zombie style knives and machetes and why we are delivering 13,000 new neighbourhood police officers to make our communities safer.
“But young people must also be supported so we are developing a Young Futures programme to intervene earlier to steer children away from falling into crime.”
