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Offensive Weapons: Greater London

Answer

[holding answer 4 July 2007]: Data for the number of fatalities caused by knives and sharp instruments is not available at borough level. The following table gives figures for the Metropolitan and City of London police force areas. Figures for the number of serious injuries caused by knife attacks are not currently available. However, new data collection arrangements from April 2007 will provide more detailed statistics on knife related violence. The British Crime Survey reports that knife crime as a proportion of all violent crime is broadly stable at 6-7 per cent.There is, of course, grave concern at the recent tragic incidents involving young people and knife crime. Work on tackling knife crime is being taken forward through the Home Secretary's round table on guns, knives and gangs, which has developed an action plan focussing on the themes of policing, powers and prevention. Legislation has recently been tightened in relation to knives, with the doubling of the maximum sentence for possession of a bladed instrument in a public place without good reason from two to four years. In April, a new offence of using someone to mind a weapon (including a knife) was introduced; and in May school staff were given powers to search pupils for knives.On 26 June, in conjunction with the Association of Chief Police Officers, we published guidance on tackling knife enabled crime, to provide police officers with a menu of options which they might use in their area. We also support police work to tackle knife crime such as Operation Blunt, run by the Metropolitan police, and Operation Shield, run by the British Transport Police, which uses search arches and other technology to search people travelling on the transport network with weapons.We recognise that policing and legislation are only part of the picture, however, and are also supporting educational projects such as the Be Safe programme, which helps young people understand the risks and consequences of carrying knives, and the Damilola Taylor Trust's "Respect Your Life, Not a Knife" campaign, which is encouraging young people to pledge not to carry weapons. We are also supporting local community organisations working to tackle knife crime through our Connected Fund. The sixth round of the fund was recently completed, and funding is now being provided to more than 100 projects in England and Wales to support local work.

Offences currently¹ recorded as homicide where apparent method of killing is sharp instrument²: London 2003-04 to 2005-06
	All ages	Victim aged under 16
Year³	MPS	City of London	MPS	City of London
2003-04	61	0	1	0
2004-05	60	0	1	0
2005-06	48	0	0	0
Total	169	0	2	0
¹ As at 9 October 2006; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available. ² All sharp instruments, including knives. ³ Homicides are shown according to the year in which the police initially recorded the offence as homicide. This is not necessarily the year in which the incident took place or the year in which any court decision was made.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

147486; 462 c1342-3W;462 c1343-4W

Session

2006-07

Subjects

Greater London Offensive weapons

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk