■ Police Commissioner says more needs to be done on knife crime

Cambridgeshire police chief vows to do more to stop youngsters getting involved in serious crime

“I am committed to help steer young people away from serious crime”

Jason Ablewhite

Knife crime in Cambridgeshire dropped by the biggest margin in the country, new statistics have revealed.

The statistics show the number of knives used in some of the serious offences, including robbery, rape and serious assaults has fallen by 22 per cent in the past year.

The second biggest fall was in Cheshire, where there was a 12 per cent reduction.

However, most areas in England saw a rise in knife crime, including Bedfordshire, one of Cambridgeshire’s neighbours, who saw the biggest increase with 57 per cent.

Last month Cambridgeshire police said there had been a 9.8 per cent rise in offences involving possession of a knife across the county, and a 3.8 per cent rise in Peterborough alone. However, possession of a knife was not included in the figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner Jason Ablewhite said he was still working hard to stop youngsters committing crimes with blades.

He said: “There are many reasons behind the reporting of different crime trends including a rise in confidence in people coming forward following targeted police activity.

“However, any increase in knife crime is something that concerns me.

“It is important that people living in Peterborough recognise that we are not seeing the levels of knife crime reported in other areas of the country.

“Equally, knife crime cannot be tackled by policing alone. We all have a part to play in educating our young people as to how devastating carrying knives can be.”

A knife amnesty held across the county in September saw 30 blades handed in during the space of a week.

Mr Ablewhite said preventing youngsters using knives was a top priority.

He said: “We have already started work on a new project targeting those young people most at risk of becoming involved in knife crime with £385,000 worth of funding from the Home Office and I have the Chief Constable’s assurance that officers are working hard to catch offenders and talk to young people about the dangers of carrying knives.

“I am committed to doing everything I can to help steer young people away from serious crime.”

The use of knives in serious crimes is on the decrease across the county