England, Wales Saw Record High Rise In Knife Crime Offenses In 2019 - Statistics Office

Sumaira FH Published October 17, 2019 | 05:15 PM

The number of knife and sharp instrument offenses recorded by the police in England and Wales in 2019 is on the rise and is the highest since 2011, the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th October, 2019) The number of knife and sharp instrument offenses recorded by the police in England and Wales in 2019 is on the rise and is the highest since 2011, the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Thursday.

"The police recorded a total of 47,513 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in the year ending June 2019... There was a volume rise in offences involving a knife or sharp instrument of 2,918 (a 7% rise) [since July 2018] to 44,076 [excluding Greater Manchester Police]. This was the highest number since the year ending March 2011," the report read.

The data from Greater Manchester Police in North West England were excluded from the report due to issues with reporting on knife or sharp instrument offenses, resulting in a reduced number of recorded cases by over 3,000.

Almost half of all offenses involving knives or sharp objects were intentionally committed to cause serious harm and injury, fewer of them included cases of rape, sexual assault, attempted murder and homicide, according to the report.

The office added that such offenses mostly occur in metropolitan areas, with the highest number of cases recorded in London.

"In the year ending June 2019, 32% of all offences recorded by the police (including Greater Manchester) involving a knife or sharp instrument happened in London (169 offences per 100,000 population). The highest rates after London were seen in the urban areas of Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and West Yorkshire (122,122 and 113 offences per 100,000 population, respectively)," the statement said.

According to the ONS, while the volume of knife crime offenses increased in England and Wales, the number of homicides including sharp objects decreased by 14 percent, mainly due to falling trends in London.