Number of knives on capital's streets hits seven-year high, figures reveal

Knife crime: A forensic tent at the scene of a fatal stabbing in north west London
Fiona Simpson9 March 2017
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The number of people caught carrying knives in the capital hit a seven-year high last year, new figures show.

More people were convicted or cautioned for possession of knives in 2016 than in any other year since 2008, according to statistics released today by the Ministry of Justice.

The figures show 4,686 people were punished for carrying knives by Met Police officers last year.

In 2015, 4,050 people were caution or convicted for possession of a knife.

The 2016 figure was the highest since 2008 when 5,516 people were caught with blades.

City of London Police saw the lowest number of people punished for carrying knives in eight years – just 15 people were cautioned or convicted.

The Metropolitan Police saw the highest number of people – 63 in every 100,000 - caught with knives.

The MoJ dealt with 4,602 knife possession offences between October and December last year – three per cent more than during the same months in 2015.

Of those caught with a knife 41 per cent of adults and 11 per cent of juveniles - a total of 1,581 people - were locked up.

Cautions for carrying knives were given to 629 people.

In 2015, 1,445 people were incarcerated over possession of a knife and 600 people were cautioned.

In total officers dealt with 21,365 knife crimes, including domestic assaults involving knives and gang attacks, in London in the 12 months of 2016.

The statistics, obtained by the Standard under Freedom of Information rules, show the total number of knife crimes rose by 17 per cent last year compared to 2015 when there were 59 deaths, 1,089 serious injuries and 18,202 less serious offences.

Last year, 4,316 people were threatened or injured with a knife or other sharp instrument compared with 3,846 in 2015, a 12 per cent increase.

Justice Minister Sam Gyimah said: “Knife crime ruins lives and devastates communities, and those who carry blades should feel the full force of the law.

“These figures show that those convicted of knife crime are more likely than ever to go to prison, and for longer."

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