Knife-point robberies up 10 per cent
Neil Puffett
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Latest figures show that knife-point robberies have increased by 10 per cent in England and Wales, just days before a bill proposing mandatory sentences for teenagers involved with knife crime is due to be debated by Lords.
British Crime Survey statistics for the year up to September 2011 show that although there was no percentage change in the level of offences involving a knife or sharp instrument compared with the 12 months to September 2010, there were changes in individual offence groups.
Robberies involving a knife increased by 10 per cent over the year from 13,971 to 15,313.
However, in contrast, there were decreases in the number of grievous bodily harm and actual bodily harm offences involving a knife (down eight per cent, from 13,400 to 12,351) and threats to kill (down 15 per cent, from 1,480 to 1,263).
The statistics come ahead of a scheduled debate of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Bill, which is due to go to committee stage in the House of Lords on Tuesday (24 January).
Changes made to the bill last October will see mandatory four-month detention and training orders for 16- and 17-year-olds convicted of using a knife or offensive weapon to threaten or endanger.
It is estimated the change could lead to as many as 400 additional children each year being jailed.
Penelope Gibbs, director of the Prison Reform Trust’s Out of Trouble Programme, said: "It's concerning that knife crime robberies are increasing but punitive remedies are not the answer.
"Measures in the LASPO Bill to introduce mandatory custodial sentences for 16- and 17-year-olds who threaten with a knife will not, if enacted, deter young people from such crimes."
