Written question asked by Ashok Kumar (Labour) on Wednesday, 26 March 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 31 March 2008. It was answered by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Wednesday, 2 April 2008 on behalf of the Home Office.

Offensive Weapons: North East

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 14 March 2008, Official Report, column 2301W, on offensive weapons, what information her Department holds on knife crime in (a) the North East, (b) Tees Valley district and (c) Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland.

Answer: From the information collected centrally on recorded crime, it has historically not been possible to identify those offences where an assault with a knife resulted in an injury. The details of the individual circumstances of offences do not feature in the recorded crime statistics.From April 2007, police forces have been collecting data on serious violence offences involving a knife or sharp instrument, to improve our understanding of the prevalence of these types of crime. The first full year's data will be available from July.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 474 c990W; 197907
Session: 2007-08
Related items: Offensive Weapons
Tuesday, 4 March 2008
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects: Offensive weapons North East
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk