Knife offenders avoid police charges
Thousands of knife crime offenders are escaping justice as the number of charges for possession plummets, The Daily Telegraph can disclose. Fewer than half of knife possession offences resulted in a charge in the six months to September last year, down from 71.2 per cent in just four years, as police blamed a lack of resources. Ministry of Justice data showed that, even when offenders were charged, only 36 per cent of knife crimes ended in an immediate custodial sentence.
THOUSANDS of knife crime offenders are escaping justice as the number of charges for possession plummets, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.
Fewer than half (46.3 per cent) of knife possession offences resulted in a charge in the six months to September last year, according to police figures.
The figure has slumped from 71.2 per cent in just four years, with police blaming the lack of investigative resources available.
The alarming figures follow Ministry of Justice data which showed that, even when offenders are charged, only 36 per cent of knife crimes result in an immediate jail term.
Rupert Reid, director of research and strategy at the Policy Exchange think tank said: “The police are spread more thinly than ever.
“They’re now being asked to deal with the rise of cyber crime and hate crime, and investigate cases where the alleged perpetrator is long dead.
“This means they have less time to deal with violence on the street.
“Similarly, magistrates are facing pressure to keep people out of prison due to overcrowding.
“We need a national conversation on what should be the priorities of those charged with keeping us safe.” The police have cited “evidential difficulties” as the main reason for the failure to charge. However, hundreds of offences have also been closed within 24 hours of being reported as officers decide there is little chance of solving them.
In the Met and Greater Manchester police areas, there has been up to a 20fold increase in knife offences being closed within a day, according to figures obtained by The Daily Telegraph under Freedom of Information laws.
Simon Kempton, operational policing lead for the Police Federation, said officer cuts meant police were slower to respond to reports of offences. “It could be a member of the public sees someone walking down the street with a knife and police don’t have the resources to get there straight away,” he said. “If you don’t get there straight away, you don’t catch the offender and the witnesses disperse. ”
Many local authorities had cut back on CCTV, he added, which meant there was less chance of gathering evidence.
Forces like the Met have also introduced rules that restrict the time officers will spend trawling through CCTV for “low harm” crimes, requiring any witnesses to specify a particular time within 20 minutes before police will decide it is worthwhile to watch. Deputy Chief Constable Sara Glen, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for charging, blamed a decline in stop and search for the fall in charges for knife possession.
She said: “Bringing violence down is a priority. However, fewer officers are able to do less proactive policing, including fewer stop and searches to identify weapons.
“We have moved to a more intelligence-led approach to stop and search in recent years but there has also been a chill effect where officers have felt cautious about using this power.”