Hundreds of weapon crimes in the region

More than 500 criminals were sentenced or c autioned for knife and weapon offences in the Northumbria Police area last year, new figures show.

Ministry of Justice figures show 628 knife and offensive weapon crimes resulted in a caution or sentence in the force area in the year to March – though this was a decrease of 2% on the year before.

This means there were 48 offences per 100,000 people in the area – down from 50 the year before – and 37% of offenders went to prison.

The figure includes possession of, or threatening with, a knife or other offensive weapon, but do not include all offences, such as murder or assault.

Nationally, an estimated 21,325 knife and offensive weapon crimes resulted in a caution or sentence in the 12 months to March – a four per cent drop on the year before, but was still the thirdhighest annual figure since current records began in 2010.

Knife crime charity the Ben Kinsella Trust warned that "heinous" knife crime has not gone away. Patrick Green, chief executive of the Ben Kinsella Trust, said: “We need to remember that these figures show that knife crime is still 53% higher than it was in 2014.

"So sadly, knife crime has not gone away and we need to maintain the focus in tackling and preventing this heinous crime."

Justice minister Chris Philp said: “Knife crime is a devastating blight on too many communities and this government is determined to do everything it can to make our streets safer.”