Written question asked by Lord Risby (Conservative) on Wednesday, 16 May 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 18 May 2007. It was answered by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Monday, 21 May 2007 on behalf of the Home Office.

Offensive Weapons: Suffolk

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of knife crime involving under-18 year olds were recorded in Suffolk in each of the last five years.

Answer: From the information collected on recorded crime, it is not possible to identify those offences which are knife related. Such offences are not specifically defined by statute and details of the individual circumstances of offences do not feature in the recorded crime statistics.Figures are collected for homicides involving the use of sharp instruments but they do not separately identify knife-related offences. As from April 2007, police forces will provide data on offences of serious violence involving knives.

Secondary information