BRIEFING PAPER Number SN4304, 9 November 2018 Knife crime in England By Grahame Allen, and Wales Lukas Audickas Contents: 1. Police recorded crime data 2. Crime Survey of England and Wales data 3. Proven offences and offenders 4. Hospital data 5. Appendix www.parliament.uk/commons-library | intranet.parliament.uk/commons-library | [email protected] | @commonslibrary 2 Knife crime in England and Wales Cover page image: Loren Godefroy, ‘The dark side of the knife’, copyright: http://www.loren-godefroy.com 3 Commons Library Briefing, 9 November 2018 Contents Summary 4 Background 5 1. Police recorded crime data 6 1.1 Trends over time 6 1.2 Homicides 7 1.3 Knife crime by police force area 8 1.4 Knife crime in London 10 2. Crime Survey of England and Wales data 12 3. Proven offences and offenders 13 4. Hospital data 16 5. Appendix 17 4 Knife crime in England and Wales Summary HIGHEST RECORDED KNIFE CRIME LEVEL IN Recorded crime 8-YEAR PERIOD 50 Thousands In the year ending March 2018, there were around 40,100 40 (selected) offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in England 30 and Wales. This is the highest number in the eight-year series (from year ending March 2011) the earliest point for which 20 comparable data are available. 1 This is directly related with 10 improvements in recording practices. 2 - 2010/11 2017/18 Homicide In 2017/18 there were 268 homicides currently recorded using a HIGHEST / LOWEST RATE sharp instrument, including knives and broken bottles, accounting of offences involving a sharp object 2016/17 for 33% of all homicides – an increase from the 216 recorded in (per 100,000 population) 2016/17. 168 Knife crime by police force area London recorded the highest rate of 168 offences involving a knife per 100,000 population 3 in 2017/18, an increase of 26 offences per 100,000 population from 2016/17. Surrey had the lowest rate of 5 offences per 100,000 individuals (up by 1 from 2016/17). 5 Proven offences and offenders London Surrey In the year ending March 2018, there were 21,044 disposals given HOSPITAL EPISODES1 SINCE for possession of a knife or offensive weapon. Juveniles (aged 10- 1998/992 17) were the offenders in 21% of cases. 8 Thousands Hospital admissions 6 There were 5,053 finished consultant episodes (FCE) recorded in 4 English hospitals in 2017/18 due to assault by a sharp object. This 2 was an increase of 14% compared to 2016/17 and 39% higher - than in 2014/15. 1998/99 2017/18 1. Finished consultant episode (FCE) 2. In 2014/15 the lowest number since 1998/9 was recorded 1 ONS, Crime in England and Wales: Police Recorded Crime, 25 January 2018, footnote 4. 2 ONS, Crime in England and Wales: year ending Mar 2016, 21 July 2016 3 Metropolitan and City of London police forces combined 5 Commons Library Briefing, 9 November 2018 Background “Knife” crime, crime involving an object with a blade or sharp instrument, is a persistent and worrying concern, especially as it impacts particularly upon young people and the disadvantaged, and various remedies have been tried over the years. The Library Briefing Paper Knives and Offensive Weapons (SN00330) discuss the legislation which governs the carrying (possession) and sale of knives and other offensive weapons. To summarise the possession offences: 4 • It is an offence under Section 1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 for a person to have with him in any public place any offensive weapon without “lawful authority or reasonable excuse”. Section 1(4) of the 1953 Act defines "offensive weapon" as: “any article made or adapted for use for causing injury to the person, or intended by the person having it with him for such use by him or by some other person.” • Under Section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 it is an offence for a person to have with him in a public place any article which has a blade or is sharply pointed, except a folding pocket knife with a cutting edge of three inches or less, without good reason or lawful authority. • Under Section 139A of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, it is an offence for a person to have an offensive weapon or a bladed or pointed article on school premises without good reason or lawful authority. The above offences are all “either way” offences, meaning they can be tried in either the magistrates’ court or the Crown court depending on the seriousness of the offence. The maximum sentence for each of these offences is up to six months’ imprisonment and/or a fine following summary conviction in the magistrates’ court, or up to four years’ imprisonment and/or a fine following conviction on indictment in the Crown Court. Mandatory minimum custodial sentences apply if an offender is aged 16 or over. 4 “making threats” and sale/supply offences are also described in Knives and offensive weapons (SN00330) 6 Knife crime in England and Wales 1. Police recorded crime data With the exception of homicide offences, recorded crime statistics did not separately identify crimes involving knives until 2007/08. From April 2007 data on the number of offences involving the use of a knife or sharp instrument has been collected for a selection of serious violent *The Focus on violent offences-viewed as those most likely to involve the use of knives. This crime and sexual offences group of offences comprised: homicide, attempted murder; wounding publication includes data on offences involving a with intent to do grievous bodily harm (GBH); wounding or inflicting knife or sharp instrument grievous bodily harm (i.e. without intent); robbery of business property; going back to the year and robbery of personal property. ending March 2009; This excludes data for West The offence coverage was extended from April 2008 to include other Midlands and Sussex, due violent and sexual offences such as threats to kill, actually bodily harm to inconsistencies in their (ABH), rape and sexual assaults. There was also a clarification in recording practices, which did not change until the Counting Rules for GBH with intent. year ending March 2011. The ONS now publishes data from year ending March 2011, the earliest Source: ONS, Crime in England and Wales, Police Recorded Crime, point for which comparable data are available*. 25 January 2018, footnote 4. 1.1 Trends over time Appendix table A1 shows the number and proportion of selected violent and sexual offences involving a knife or sharp instrument recorded by the police in England and Wales since 2010/11. 1. SELECTED OFFENCES INVOLVING A KNIFE OR SHARP INSTRUMENT YEAR ENDING Year ending March, England and Wales, (000's) JUNE (000's) 40.1 39.3 34.5 35.1 32.7 31.0 28.9 26.4 25.6 26.1 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2017 2018 Source: ONS, Crime in England and Wales: Other related tables, Table F3, 19 July 2018, Table F3a from 18 October 2018 edition and earlier editions It has been suggested that some of the recent Chart 1 shows that number of selected offences involving a knife or a increases in recorded crime sharp object fell between 2010/11 and 2013/14 before rising over the are due to “improved crime next three years. In year ending March 2018, there were around 40,100 recording practices and processes leading to a offences involving a sharp instrument. This was 16% higher than in greater proportion of 2016/17 and 23% higher than in 2010/11. Data for the year ending reports of crime being June shows an increase from 35,100 in 2017 to 39,300 offences 2018. recorded” The main offences involving a knife or sharp instrument recorded in the Source: ONS, Crime in England and Wales: year ending Mar 2016, year ending March 2018 were assault with injury and intent to cause 21 July 2016 serious harm (51%) and robbery (38%). 7 Commons Library Briefing, 9 November 2018 2.1. SELECTED OFFENCES INVOLVING A KNIFE OR SHARP INSTRUMENT Percentage change by category, England and Wales 2010/11 – 2017/18 99% 76% 69% 55% 35% 23% 13% 5% Threats to Sexual Rape Attempted Assault Homicide Robbery TotalTotal kill assault murder with injury selectedselected and intent offences to cause serious harm Chart 2.1 shows that there were more offences committed in all categories in 2017/18 compared to 2010/11. Since 2010/11: the total number of selected offences involving a knife or sharp instrument has increased by 23%; the number of threats to kill using knifes or sharp 2.2. % CHANGE BY CATEGORY objects has almost doubled (increasing by 99%); sexual assaults and England and Wales. 2016/17 – 17/18 rape offences increased by 76% and 69% respectively. Robbery +33% Chart 2.2 provides information about changes by offence between 2016/17 and 2017/18. Over the period, the total number of offences Homicide +24% involving knife or sharp instrument increased by 16%: robbery offences Assault with injury and intent to cause +6% increased the most (33%) followed by homicide (24%); Assault with serious harm injury and intent to cause serious harm, Threats to kill and rape offences Threats to kill proportionally rose by around 6% in the twelve months ending March +6% 2018. Care should be taken when comparing figures for rape & sexual Rape +6% assaults offences over time due to the relatively low number of these offences recorded. Attempted murder +5% 1.2 Homicides -9% Sexual assault Sharp instrument homicide data has been collected by the Home Office since 1977 as part of the Homicide Index collection.