Concern at knife crime ‘soft sentences’

JUDGES HAVE been accused of “soft sentencing” for offenders convicted of repeat knife or offensive weapons crimes.

Ministry of Justice (MoJ) data shows that 2,045 adults received at least six months’ immediate custody in 2018/19 after committing a second or subsequent weapons possession offence.

The figure amounted to only 45 per cent of all offenders convicted or cautioned under the relevant legislation in that 12-month period. This is despite the law, which came into force in July 2015, outlining that adults convicted of a repeated knife or offensive weapon possession offence faced serving a minimum six months’ jail term.

Philip Davies, Tory MP for Shipley, said: “Given the knife crime epidemic we see across the country, these figures are deeply concerning. The lack of prison sentences in these cases fly in the face of common sense, what Parliament intended and what the public demands.

“This soft sentencing from judges is destroying public confidence in the criminal justice system.”

The figures, provided in answer to a parliamentary question from Mr Davies, also showed that 165 16- and 17-year-olds – 40 per cent – served the four months’ detention outlined in legislation following a repeat offence in 2018/19.

For juvenile offenders, this was a nine percentage point decrease in comparison to 2017/18, and a 12 percentage point decrease since the year ending March 2017.

Overall, 22,041 knife or weapon offences were recorded in the year to March 2019, the highest number since 2010 – and a 34 per cent increase on 2015.

The MoJ figures come amid a national debate on the issue of knife crime, following a spate of assaults and killings involving young people.