MP says judges are ignoring law on knife crime

JUDGES have been accused of “flagrantly ignoring” a two-strike rule on knife crime convictions after statistics showed more than 10 per cent of repeat offenders are being spared jail.

Figures released by the Ministry of Justice show that 87 per cent of adult repeat offenders were handed some form of custodial sentence between April and June this year, up four per cent on the same quarter last year.

That means close to one in every eight offenders with more than one conviction for a knife-related offence avoided prison, despite a rule introduced in 2015 which suggests they should have been jailed.

The statistics also show that there has been a surge in knife crime, with just over 5,200 possession offences dealt with throughout the courts in England and Wales in the last quarter, a 6 per cent increase on 2016. The two-strike rule dictates that adults convicted of being in possession of a blade or offensive weapon for a second time face a prison sentence of a minimum of six months and a maximum of four years.

Sentencing decisions are ultimately a matter for judges, who consider whether there are mitigating circumstances. But the fact that 13 per cent of repeat offenders are being spared jail has sparked concerns that the justice system is still not being tough enough on criminals who carry knives.

Philip Davies, the Tory MP for Shipley, said the statistics suggest the rule “isn’t being enforced properly”. He said: “This is another example of judge activism where judges are disagreeing with what Parliament has done and are simply doing their own thing, flagrantly ignoring what they have been told to do.”

However, statistics do suggest some hardening in the approach, with more immediate jail terms. Some 42 per cent of adult offenders were given an immediate custodial sentence in the last quarter – the highest rate since such statistics were first published a decade ago.