Knife crime figures show 16% drop

The number of people cautioned or sentenced for carrying a knife or offensive weapon has fallen by 16% since 2009, new Government figures have revealed.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said 5,466 offenders were caught between July and September this year, dropping from a figure of 6,490 during the same period in 2009.

According to the MoJ, the fall was more marked for juveniles, where the decrease was 28% (1,253 to 904), than for adult offenders, where the decrease was 13% (5,237 to 4,561).

The statistics also showed that just over a fifth (21%) of those convicted of possessing a knife or offensive weapon between July and September this year were were jailed - the lowest figure since the second quarter of 2008.

Since May 2008 tougher sentences have been introduced for offences involving the possession of a knife.

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Annual crime figures to be revealed

Thursday, 14 July 2011

Burglaries rose 14 per cent in the last year but the overall crime level was stable, figures show

Significant rises in burglaries and opportunistic thefts are creating a risk to the public, police chiefs have warned.

Burglaries rose 14% in 2010/11, the British Crime Survey showed, while police figures showed the number of thefts of unattended mobiles, wallets and purses from pubs, household property, from gardens, and metal or industrial equipment was up 10%.

Chief Constable Jon Murphy, head of crime for the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), warned the high price of metal was fuelling a significant increase in metal thefts, with the British Transport Police reporting a 70% increase in the theft of cables.

"The high price of metal is driving what is a significant increase in metal theft due to the price of second-hand scrap metal," Mr Murphy said. "This has a potentially significant impact on the national critical infrastructure and consequent risk to the public."

Police chiefs were also studying the "emerging patterns of criminality" in burglaries and some other thefts, Mr Murphy said.

Overall, crime levels in England and Wales remained stable, but officials said the reductions seen since the mid-1990s were beginning to ease.

The British Crime Survey (BCS), based on interviews with tens of thousands of people in more than 45,000 households, showed burglaries rose 14% in 2010/11 compared with the previous year, when burglaries fell by 9%.

Overall, there was an easing of the falling levels of crime after "sustained reductions" since the mid-1990s, with an estimated 9.6 million crimes in 2010/11, compared with 9.5 million the previous year, the BCS figures showed. Around one in 40 households had been victims of burglary or attempted burglaries in the last year, according to the survey.

Crime and Security minister James Brokenshire said: "We have consistently argued that crime is too high and that is why our policing reforms are so urgently needed. Everyone has the right to feel safe in their home and local community."

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: "Now is not the time for the Government to take risks with community safety by cutting over 12,000 police officers. People want crime to fall further and the Government is doing nothing to help."

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