2,292 first-time knife criminals in London went through the criminal justice system in the last year reports Marieta Marinova, Data Reporter

A person gripping a knife in the hand by the handle with the open blade pointing towards the ground. — In London, offenders were cautioned or sentenced 3,490 times for knife-related crimes – (Credit – Radar)

Two-thirds of knife crime offenders in London had no previous knife-related convictions or cautions, new figures show.

Anti-knife crime charity the Ben Kinsella Trust said urgent change is needed to address this trend, as it suggests “for some, carrying knives has become normalised behaviour”.

Ministry of Justice figures show 2,292 first-time knife criminals in London went through the criminal justice system in the year ending March 2023.

They account for 66% of all those found guilty of knife and offensive weapon offences.

Of these, only 16% were jailed immediately. Patrick Green, Ben Kinsella Trust chief executive, said this showed the law is not providing a sufficient deterrent and many first-time knife criminals would go on to become serial offenders.

Across England and Wales, the proportion of offenders sent into immediate custody for a knife offence fell from 37% in the year ending March 2020 to 30% this year.

In London, offenders were cautioned or sentenced 3,490 times for knife-related crimes. Of those, 992 (28%) resulted in immediate jail sentences – fewer than in 2019-20, when the figure stood at 34%.

The Met Police caught children aged under 18 with knives 828 times in 2022-23, a decrease from 902 the year before.

Green said: “One possibility is that young people are feeling increasingly unsafe, and that they are mistakenly carrying knives for protection.

“Protecting our youth and fostering a safe environment for all should be a government priority.”

He added children are also influenced by social media, which “often portrays knives in a glamorised way” and said young people must be provided with the necessary support, education, and opportunities to steer them away from violence.

Of those cautioned or sentenced, 95% were men, which remained unchanged from the year before.

Overall, there were 19,086 knife offences that resulted in a caution or sentence in England and Wales to March this year, which was a slight decrease on last year’s figure of 19,674.

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else. £84 annual supporters get a print copy by post and a digital copy of each month's before anyone else.