Knife crime rises again as shoplifting at 20-year high

Knife crime offences have risen by 4 per cent since last year, with a “notable increase” in the number of robberies involving a bladed weapon.

- HOLLY EVANS

Police forces across England and Wales recorded 50,510 offences between 2023-24, compared to 48,409 in the previous year, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures.

While crimes involving possession of an article with a blade dropped a slight 3 per cent, robberies involving knives rose by 13 per cent following “substantial increases in recent years”.

The release of the figures follow the death of another teenager this week in London after a 15-year-old boy stabbed to death in Hackney. Murders involving a knife stood at 233 in the year to March 2024, up very slightly on the 226 in the previous year, but again lower than pre-pandemic figures (253 in 2019-20).

Meanwhile, the number of shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales has risen to a new 20-year high. A total of 443,995 offences were logged by forces in the year to March 2024, up 30 per cent on the 342,428 recorded in the previous 12 months.