Knife and Offensive Weapon Sentencing Statistics: April to June 2020
Trends in cautioning and sentencing of knife and offensive weapon offences.
Documents
Details
Contents
2. Knife and offensive weapon offences overview
5. Sentencing under section 28 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act (CJCA) 2015
7. Future publications and contact details for any queries or feedback
This publication presents key statistics describing the trends in the number of offenders receiving cautions and convictions for
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possession of an article with a blade or point
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possession of an offensive weapon, or
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threatening with either type of weapon
in England and Wales. It should be noted that figures for the latest year have been estimated and should be treated as provisional. Please refer to the technical guide for further details.
Accompanying files
As well as this bulletin, the following products are published as part of this release:
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ODS format tables containing data on knife or offensive weapon offences up to June 2020
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An interactive table tool to look at previous offences involving possession of a blade, point or offensive weapon. The tool provides further breakdowns by gender, police identified ethnicity and prosecuting police force area. The data used in the tool is also included as a separate csv file.
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An interactive Sankey diagram looking at outcomes for offenders sentenced for these offences by whether or not they have a previous conviction or caution for possession of a blade, point or offensive weapon; which includes breakdowns by gender, age group and offence type.
This bulletin was delayed due to the COVID19 pandemic and was published in December 2020. In response to the pandemic MoJ had to change its data gathering, access and release practices, focusing efforts on priority analysis and statistics. Our statement explains this further. The period covered by this publication includes the first quarter of data since restrictions were put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020. Where possible, the publication highlights the impact by presenting quarterly changes in addition to the usual year-on-year comparisons.
Main points
| Point | Change | Commentary |
|---|---|---|
| The number of knife and offensive weapon offences dealt with by the Criminal Justice System (CJS) had been increasing since 2014 but has decreased in the last quarter. | Decrease | In the year ending June 2020 18,564 knife and offensive weapon offences were formally dealt with by the CJS, a decrease of 17% since the year ending June 2019. This comes after a rise of 14% from year ending June 2013 year ending June 2020. The magnitude of this increase has been affected by steep falls in the last quarter driven by changes due to the pandemic. |
| The proportion of offenders receiving an immediate custodial sentence for a knife and offensive weapon offence increased to 42% in the last quarter. | Increase | This has increased from 36% in the same quarter last year. This reflects trends seen in other sentencing statistics and is likely to be influenced by the prioritisation of cases during the pandemic. |
| For 70% of offenders this was their first knife or offensive weapon possession offence. | Decrease | The proportion of offenders for whom this is their first knife or offensive weapon possession offence has been decreasing over the last decade, from 80% in the year ending June 2010 to 70% in the year ending June 2020. |
| The average custodial sentence received by offenders sentenced under section 28 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 was 7.9 months in the year ending June 2020. | Increase | This has risen since the year ending June 2017, the first full year after the legislation was established, where it was 7.1 months. |
1. Statistician’s comment
Today’s publication, covering the period to June 2020, is the first to contain a full quarter affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact is clear to see in the data. Court activity was affected by the pandemic as adjustments were made to adhere to new rules on movement and social interaction and this has led to an exaggerated reduction in the overall figures. ONS figures also show there has been a decrease in recorded crime figures for knife and offensive weapon offences.
There has also been a steeper than expected increase in the custody rate, which has been stable for the last three years. The increase is likely to have been influenced by the prioritisation of offences most likely to result in custody.
The impact of the pandemic is likely to continue to affect these statistics and drive short-term trends in future periods as we see the recovery in subsequent quarters.
2. Knife and offensive weapon offences overview
The number of knife and offensive weapon offences dealt with by the Criminal Justice System (CJS) had been increasing since 2014 but has decreased in the last quarter.
Figure 1: Knife and offensive weapon offences by offence type, England and Wales, annually from year ending June 2010 (Source: Table 1a)
In the year ending June 2020 18,564 knife and offensive weapon offences were formally dealt with by the CJS, a decrease of 17% since the year ending June 2019. The quarterly figures for Mar-Jun 2020 were half that in the same quarter the previous year and this has driven the decrease in the rolling annual figure. This is the first full quarter to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Figure 1 shows that the previous increase since 2013 was driven by possession of an article with a blade or point offences, but in the most recent quarter all three offences have decreased; possession of an article with a blade or point (52%), possession of an offensive weapon (53%) and threatening with a knife or offensive weapon (49%) have all decreased compared to the same quarter last year.
Recent police recorded crime figures showed a 5% decrease in the number of knife and offensive weapon offences recorded from 38,602 in the year ending June 2019 to 36,841 in the year ending June 2020. Furthermore, information published by the Home Office on “Crime outcomes in England and Wales” show that 50% of these offences resulted in a charge or police caution in the year ending March 2020.
3. Sentencing
The proportion of offenders receiving immediate custodial sentences has remained stable at around 38% for the last three years, but in the last quarter the custody rate has increased to 42%. This reflects trends seen in other sentencing statistics and is likely to be influenced by the prioritisation of cases during the pandemic.
Figure 2: Knife and offensive weapon offences by disposal type, England and Wales, annually from year ending June 2010 (Source: Table 1)
Between the year ending June 2010 and the year ending June 2017 there was an increase in the proportion of offenders receiving an immediate custodial sentence for a knife and offensive weapon offence, from 23% to 35%, but the trend has been broadly stable at 38% over the last three years.
The increase in average custodial sentence length between the year ending June 2010 and the year ending March 2020 was seen in all age groups and offence types but particularly for adults, for whom it increased from 6.5 months to 8.1 months, and for possession of blade or point offences, where it increased from 5.6 months to 7.5 months.
4. Offending History
For 70% of offenders this was their first knife or offensive weapon possession offence.
The proportion of offenders for whom this is their first knife or offensive weapon possession offence has been decreasing over the last decade, from 80% in the year ending June 2010 to 70% in the year ending June 2020.
The decrease in the proportion of first time knife and offensive weapon offenders has been seen for both adults and juveniles, with the proportion for adults decreasing from 77% to 67% between the year ending June 2010 and the year ending June 2020 and the proportion for juveniles decreasing from 91% to 83% over the same period.
Figure 3: Number of previous cautions or convictions for the possession of a knife or offensive weapon offence for offenders cautioned or convicted for a knife or offensive weapon offence, England and Wales, annually from year ending June 2010 (Source:Interactive Pivot Table Tool)
Figure 3 shows the number of previous cautions or convictions for the possession of a knife or offensive weapon, broken down by number of previous convictions. Figures for the most recent year show a fall across the two largest groups as the overall number of cautions and convictions has fallen due to Covid-19 restrictions. There has been less of a decrease for those offenders that have more previous convictions. This is likely to be due to the prioritisation of cases that are most likely to result in custody.
5. Sentencing under section 28 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act (CJCA) 2015
Following the commencement of section 28 of the CJCA 2015, a court must impose a minimum custodial sentence on an offender who has been convicted of a second or subsequent offence involving possession of a knife or offensive weapon. The court must impose the minimum sentence unless it would not be in the interest of justice to do so.
The average custodial sentence received by offenders sentenced under section 28 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 was 7.9 months in the year ending June 2020.
This has risen since the year ending June 2017, the first full year after the legislation was established, where it was 7.1 months. Over the same time period the average custodial sentence length has increased from 7.2 to 7.9 months for adults and 6.1 to 7.6 months for 16 and 17 year olds.
Figure 4: Knife and offensive weapons possession sentencing and cautioning occasions for adult repeat offenders, by disposal type, year ending June 2015 and annually from year ending June 2017 (Source: Interactive Pivot Table Tool and Table 7)
In the year to June 2015, prior to the introduction of this legislation, half (50%) of adult knife and offensive weapons possession offenders with at least one previous knife and offensive weapons possession offence received an immediate custodial sentence. In the year ending June 2020 two thirds (66%) of adult offenders sentenced under section 28 of the CJCA 2015 received an immediate custodial sentence. Overall 85% of adult offenders sentenced under section 28 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 in the year ending March 2020 received some form of custodial sentence, either immediate custody or a suspended sentence, compared to 71% of adult offenders with at least one previous knife and offensive weapons offence in the year ending June 2015.
For 16 and 17 year olds, in the year ending June 2020 39% of offenders sentenced under section 28 of the CJCA 2015 received an immediate custodial sentence compared to 33% of knife and offensive weapons possession offenders with at least one previous knife and offensive weapons possession offence in the year ending June 2015.
6. Further information
The data presented in this publication are provisional and updated in each publication. Figures provided for more recent quarters are subject to change in future publications as ongoing cases pass through the Criminal Justice System.
A technical guide provides further information on how the data is collected and processed, as well as information on the revisions policy and legislation relevant to knife and offensive weapon sentencing.
Official Statistics status
Official statistics are produced under the remit of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. They are produced impartially and are free from political influence. More information can be found on the UK Statistics Authority website
7. Future publications
Next update: 20 May 2021
Our statisticians regularly review the content of publications. Development of new and improved statistical outputs is usually dependent on reallocating existing resources. As part of our continual review and prioritisation, we welcome user feedback on existing outputs including content, breadth, frequency and methodology. Please send any comments you have on this publication including suggestions for further developments or changes in content.
Contact
Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office:
Tel: 020 3334 3536
Email: newsdesk@justice.gov.uk
Other enquiries about, or feedback on, these statistics should be directed to the Justice Statistics Analytical Services division of the Ministry of Justice:
Chandni Lakhani,
Ministry of Justice,
102 Petty France,
London,
SW1H 9AJ
Email: statistics.enquiries@justice.gov.uk
© Crown copyright Produced by the Ministry of Justice. Alternative formats are available on request from statistics.enquiries@justice.gov.uk
8. Pre-release access
The bulletin was produced and handled by the ministry’s analytical professionals and production staff. Prior to publication pre-release access of up to 24 hours was granted to the following persons:
Ministry of Justice:
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice; Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – covering youth justice; Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – covering sentencing; Permanent Secretary; Minister and Permanent Secretary Private Secretaries (9); Special Advisors (2); Deputy Director for Bail, Sentencing and Release Policy; Senior Policy Advisor, Custodial Sentencing Policy Unit; Policy Advisor, Youth Sentencing; Head of News and relevant press officers (4).
Youth Justice Board:
Data Analyst, YJB Information and Analysis.
Home Office:
Home Secretary; Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Safeguarding; Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Crime, Policing and the Fire Service; Minister Private Secretaries (4); Special Advisor; Assistant Private Secretary to the Special Advisors; Head of Serious Violence Unit; Policy Advisor, Serious Violence Unit; Statistician, Violent Crime; and relevant press officers (2).
Cabinet Office:
Private Secretary to the Prime Minister; Principal Analyst, Prime Minister’s Implementation Unit.