Knife offenders ‘given free pass’ as prosecutions fall to record low
THE proportion of offenders caught carrying knives being charged by police with possession has fallen to a record low, a Daily Telegraph analysis of official figures shows.
The number of knife possession offences resulting in a charge has nearly halved in six years, with fewer than a third ending up in court. It comes as the number of knife offences has doubled to 26,500 over the same period, according to the Home Office data for the year to the end of December.
In the West Midlands, one of Britain’s biggest forces, one in eight knife possession offences (13 per cent) resulted in a charge. It was among eight forces in England and Wales – a fifth of the total – where less than a quarter of the knife possession crimes resulted in a charge. Some experts said it could be the result of greater use of out of court punishments, such as community resolutions, as a way of dealing with a potential increase in under-18s carrying knives.
Others suggested that it could also be linked to the way police recorded crimes. More witness reports of offenders seen with weapons, rather than being caught red-handed, could be being recorded as crimes, while knife possession might not be charged if it was part of a series of more serious offences.
Rory Geoghegan, a former police officer who founded the Public Safety Foundation, said: “While there may be exceptional cases, the overwhelming majority of those caught with a knife or other offensive weapon, irrespective of age, should expect to be charged and sent to court. Police and our courts should be doing all they can to send the clearest possible message that the carrying of weapons in public is unacceptable. Giving knife carriers the equivalent of a free pass may suit the agendas of some activists, but it serves only to encourage the carriage of weapons.”
Gavin Hales, a senior research fellow specialising in policing, said: “When we look at outcomes for offences involving the possession of ‘points and blades’, we don’t see people being treated more leniently where there are sanctions.
“Rather, as overall crime volumes have increased, a growing proportion of investigations have been closed with no suspect [identified].”
The proportion of offences involving possession of a weapon with a blade or point resulting in a charge has dropped from 58.3 per cent in 2016 to 31.7 per cent last year.