Knife offence takes place every 30 minutes in London, official figures show
24 April 2025, 14:56
Knife offences are taking place every 30 minutes in London, official figures have shown.
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Almost a third of knife crime across England and Wales happens in the capital, figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed.
Some 16,789 offences involving a bladed weapon were recorded by the Met Police last year - equivalent to around 46 a day.
Across all of England and Wales, 54,587 incidents were recorded - up two per cent from 53,413 in 2023.
It was one per cent below the pre-pandemic figure of 55,170 in the year to March 2020.
Most knife crime offences took place in metropolitan areas, with the London force recording 31 per cent.
West Midlands Police recorded nine per cent and Greater Manchester Police six per cent of the overall total.
Read more: Moment knife attacker 'films victim' while stabbing him during horror attack in London restaurant
The number of offences involving possession of an article with a blade or point was 28,150, up one per cent from 27,892 and higher than the pre-pandemic figure of 23,264 in 2019/20.
There were 216 knife-enabled homicides, down 16 per cent from 258 in 2023.
Billy Gazard of the ONS said: "While police-recorded offences involving knives and sharp instruments have increased, there has been a marked decrease in firearms offences.
"However, shoplifting offences continue to rise, reaching half a million offences in the year ending December 2024, the highest on record."
The data also showed that the number of homicides recorded by police in England and Wales fell to its lowest level in a decade.
Some 535 offences were recorded in 2024, down five per cent from 563 in 2023 and the lowest figure since 533 in the 12 months to March 2014.
Overall, police recorded 6.64 million crimes in England and Wales in 2024, down by one per cent from 6.68 million in 2023.
Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said: "This Labour Government will not tolerate the criminality blighting our communities.
"That’s why we’re putting almost 3,000 more bobbies on the beat in neighbourhood roles this year, and under our leadership, these crimes will receive the attention they deserve.
"We are already starting to reverse the Tories’ decade of decline on charge rates."
She added: "Today’s figures are yet more evidence of the damage done by destroying neighbourhood policing as the Tories did over 14 years."
