Reports of knife crime hit highest level in a decade

Serious knife crime continued to rise in Avon and Somerset ahead of lockdown.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed there were 951 serious crimes reported to police in Avon and Somerset in 2019/20 where the offender had a knife or sharp object. While that was up only slightly compared to 883 similar crimes in 2018/19, it was the highest number recorded since comparable figures began in 2010/11.

The figure has gone up by 71% in that time, from 556 serious knife crimes. In 2019/20, there were three homicides, 18 attempted murders and 11 rapes or sexual assaults, 309 robberies, 117 threats to kill, and 493 assaults in Avon and Somerset involving a knife or sharp object. Overall, crime in the area was up by 3%, with 140,618 offences recorded in 2019/20 - up from 136,761 the year before. Within that there has been a 26% increase in robberies and a 5% increase in violence against a person. These figures cover April 2019 to March 2020, so they do not show what impact coronavirus may have had in Avon and Somerset.

Figures from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) suggest that overall, crime has continued to fall. These figures ask about people’s experience of crime, and are seen as a better measure of overall crime levels over time, while police recorded crime figures show how many offences are being dealt with. The CSEW estimates overall crime, excluding fraud and computer misuse, fell 9% in the last year, with 5.7 million offences in 2019/20 - the lowest number since at least 1981. The drop in the last year was driven by significant falls in theft (down 12%) and criminal damage (13%). However, the ONS say police recorded crime provides a better measure of higher-harm but less common types of violence, such as knife crime. In England and Wales, there were 44,445 serious crimes involving a knife or sharp object recorded by police in 2019/20 - a record high. That’s up 5% from 42,184 offences the year before, and a 50% rise compared to 29,656 serious knife crimes in 2010/11. Police recorded crime increased slightly, with 5.0 million offences nationally - up from 4.9 million reports in 2018/19.

John Apter, Police Federation of England and Wales chair, said: “While it’s heartening to see statistics confirming some crimes are down, I’ve serious concerns about the rise in homicide, knife crime, and robbery.”