Knife Crime and Related Research

Emily Jones

Knife Crime in the UK Up to 1,000 people a month are victims

of knife crime in London, according to alarming new statistics.

Almost half of all knife crimes in the UK take place in larger cities such as London, Birmingham and Manchester.

60% of knife crime attacks are gang related. If you carry a knife there is a good chance you’ll end up using it even if you didn’t intend on doing so or end up getting hurt yourself.

Why do they carry knives?

• While there is no excuse to carry a weapon, people say they carry a knife or gun for different reasons:

• protection• self-defence• fear• peer pressure• to gain respect, power or control

Knife killings in Birmingham triple in one year

Knife killings in Birmingham almost tripled last year, according to shock new figures.

There were 11 such deaths in the city in the financial year 2012/13 – up from just four in the previous 12 months.

The statistics were provided by West Midlands Police as the city mourned the loss of teenagers Joshua Ribera and Azim Azam – who both died of stab wounds in the space of a week.

Rising rap star Josh, 18, was knifed as he attended a fundraiser for an earlier stab victim, Kyle Sheehan, at a nightclub in Selly Oak last Friday night.

Azim, 16, was fatally stabbed in Yardley Wood Road, Moseley, as he travelled to his first day at Bournville College on Monday last week.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/knife-killings-birmingham-triple-one-6083015

What are the West Midlands Police doing about Knife Crime

• Knife crime in the West Midlands is falling with 1,445 fewer offences in 2011/2012 compared to the same period in 2008/2009. However, just one victim is one too many and West Midlands Police remains committed to driving knife crime down even further.

• Anyone found to be carrying a knife in a public place could face a prison sentence of at least four years.

• But under 'joint enterprise' rules, prosecutors also have the power to bring before the courts people who were present when a crime was committed so that all face the same serious charges.

• The Knives End Lives campaign aims to raise awareness of the real consequences of carrying a knife and the risk people face if caught in the company of someone who they know is armed.

• According to figures released by police, knife crime in Birmingham dropped by 25% between April 2011 and 2012.

• In 2012-13, there were 1,615 knife-related incidents in the city, although police said over the past six years knife crime had fallen by 63% across the force area.

• Justice Minister Jeremy Wright said: "Overall knife crime is falling and a higher proportion of people are going to prison for knife possession than in previous years.

• "It's encouraging that cautions have fallen and those who have previously been caught carrying a knife are twice as likely to go to prison."