KNIFE CRIME

The two main government sponsored sources of annual crime statistics for England and Wales are;-  
"RECORDED CRIME STATISTICS" (crimes recorded by the Police)
"BRITISH CRIME SURVEY" (crimes as experienced by a representative group of people surveyed)

Because of the way that they are compiled, these two sets of statistics often conflict, with each showing different trends. Whilst they offer the best guide available to the public, neither set of statistics is perfect. For example, the latest reports are in direct conflict over the key issue of violent crime,  the British Crime Survey indicates violent crime to be down 11% on the previous year, whereas the Recorded Crime Statistics reflect a 7% increase!

RECORDED CRIME STATISTICS - it is generally accepted that in any year, a high percentage of crimes are simply not reported to the police for a variety of reasons. Government guidelines also mean that not all incidents reported to the police, need to be recorded for statistical purposes.

BRITISH CRIME SURVEY - These statistics are based on the experiences of what is hoped to be a typically representative group of the population - however the current number of people surveyed is 40,000 per year, which is obviously a small number considered against a total population of around 60 million. 

A further complication is that the basis of both sets of statistics have changed over recent years, i.e. until 2002, the survey group size for the British Crime Survey, was just a miniscule 20,000 people, but this has now been increased to 40,000. Police guidelines have also changed, meaning that some crimes not previously recorded, now are, whilst others have been reclassified and are now recorded separately, etc.

Such changes, make it almost impossible to realistically track longer term trends from the previously published information. It must also be recognised that inevitably, by the time that the official statistics have been compiled, checked and published they are already some 18 months or so out of date.

Note; other sources of information drawn on to prepare this page, include youth surveys, Mori polls, media such as BBC News and the national press, etc. Such surveys are typically based on relatively small numbers of respondents (i.e. youth survey; 5,000 teenagers between ages 11 & 16 polled), whilst press and media frequently focus on a single or limited group of incidents at any time. For further information, simply going to a search engine such as 'google'  and using search phrases such as 'knife culture in Britain', 'Knife crime' or similar search terms will generate hundreds of thousands of pages to sift through so you can easily keep yourself up to date.

Statistics - some specifics / the numbers  (based on the latest annual statistics for crime in England & Wales)
note: where BCS & RCS figures vary we have tried to show comparison	source of information;

	Incidents of Violent Crime	2,715,000	British Crime Survey  (RCS figures 1,000,000+)
	- Violent Crime - involving use of weapons	almost 75%	Recorded Crime Statistics
	- Violent Crime - Wounding	38%	Recorded Crime Statistics    (BCS indicate 25%)
	- Violent Crime - Serious Wounding	2%	Recorded Crime Statistics    (BCS - no info)
	- Violent Crime – fatalities	0.1%	Recorded Crime Statistics    (BCS - no info)
	Homicides  (incl. murder / manslaughter / infanticides)	1,045	Recorded Crime Statistics
	- Homicides with sharp implement	27%	Recorded Crime Statistics
	- Homicides with guns	8%	Recorded Crime Statistics
	- Homicides increase since 1965	more than tripled	Recorded Crime Statistics
	Incidents involving edged weapon attacks (London Only)	54,000+	British National Martial Arts Association
	Firearm incidents involving violence	7,133	Recorded Crime Statistics
	Statistics re. Youths Carrying Knives:-  (note: the figures below do not necessarily reflect youths carrying knives every day)	.
	- 11-12 year olds carrying knives last year	10%	Youth at risk?
	- 15-17 year olds admitting to carrying knives for self defence	46%	Ian Johnston - Chief Constable British Transport Police
	- Pupils in London Schools carrying knives  (in many surveys, around 30-35% of pupils admit to carrying a knife - but it should be stressed, that does not mean every day! However misguidedly, many pupils only carry a knife when they feel they may be particularly at risk)	29%	Youth Justice Board / Mori 2003
	- Excluded Pupils carrying knives	62%	Youth Justice Board / Mori 2003
	- 16 year old boys admitting attacking someone with a knife  - intent on causing serious injury	1 in 5	Youth Justice Board / Mori 2003
	-  teenage deaths from knife attack (2004)	more than 20	Be Safe Project   www.besafeproject.org.uk
	++++ Newsflash ++++ In London alone - over the May Bank Holiday weekend (27-29th May 06) - Police recorded over 50 knife attacks	more than 50 knife attacks in London during the weekend	BBC National News
	Many criminologists now believe that people carrying a knife is a bigger threat than people carrying guns - this is based on a 60% increase in recorded incidents of knife carrying during the 6 years between 1999 – 2004	60% increase in recorded knife carrying incidents in  just 6 years	BBC National News

Research provided by: Insight Security