Knife and offensive weapon sentencing statistics: year ending December 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 315 of the Sentencing Act 2020
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. Please note that, from this publication, cases still awaiting final decisions are no longer accounted for using estimation methodology. These are generally cases in the latest periods and are now counted as ‘other’ disposals until final decisions are made.
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 December 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.
The period covered by this publication includes the third 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 since the start of the pandemic. | Decrease | In 2020 18,455 knife and offensive weapon offences were formally dealt with by the CJS, a decrease of 18% since 2019. This comes after a rise of 38% between 2013 and 2019 and is likely to have been driven by the pandemic, particularly in Q2 2020. |
| The proportion of offenders receiving an immediate custodial sentence for a knife and offensive weapon offence decreased to 32% in 2020. | Decrease | This had been stable at around 37% between 2017 and 2019 but is likely to have been affected by changes during the pandemic, and a higher number of cases still going through the court than in other years which are no longer accounted for using estimation methodology. |
| For 72% 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 79% in 2010 to 72% in 2020 but has been stable at around 71% since 2017. |
| The average custodial sentence received by offenders sentenced under section 315 of the Sentencing Act 2020 was 7.5 months in 2020 | Decrease | This had risen between 2016, the first full year after the legislation was introduced, and 2019 but in 2020 fell back almost to levels seen in 2017. |
1. Statistician’s comment
Today’s publication, covering the period to December 2020, is the third to contain a full quarter affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. There are several possible impacts of the pandemic on the statistics. These include the impact of lockdowns and changes to court arrangements such as court closures, pauses to jury trials and remote hearings. This quarter the number of cases being dealt with has increased and is 4% higher than the same quarter in 2019, possibly linked to the backlog in courts. This follows a period that saw large falls in the number of cases and a prioritisation of the cases most likely to result in a custodial sentence. This quarter also represents the first quarter of data following the removal of our estimation methodology following the change to the publication schedule that allows more time for cases to pass through the criminal justice system.
This quarters custody rate has fallen to 26%, the lowest since Q3 2011. The decrease in this quarter is likely to be due to clearing of the backlog of less serious cases. In addition, this quarter’s figure is likely to be affected by cases still going through the courts, where the case has been referred to the Crown Court for sentencing. These disposals will be currently recorded as ‘other’ but may end up as an immediate custodial sentence in future.
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 since the start of the pandemic.
Figure 1: Knife and offensive weapon offences by offence type, England and Wales, annually from 2010 (Source: Table 1a)
In 2020 18,455 knife and offensive weapon offences were formally dealt with by the CJS, a decrease of 18% since 2019. This comes after a rise of 38% between 2013 and 2019 and is likely to have been driven by changes during the pandemic, particularly in Q2 2020. In April to June 2020, the first affected by COVID-19 restrictions, there was a 52% fall in the number of offences dealt with compared to the same quarter in 2019. This has gone back up in subsequent quarters and the 5,401 cases dealt with in October to December 2020 was 4% higher than in the same quarter of 2019.
Recent police recorded crime figures showed an 8% decrease in the number of knife and offensive weapon offences recorded from 39,073 in 2019 to 36,130 in 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 an immediate custodial sentence for a knife and offensive weapon offence decreased to 32% in 2020.
This had been stable at around 37% between 2017 and 2019 but is likely to have been impacted by the pandemic, and a higher number of cases still going through the court than in other years which are no longer accounted for using estimation methodology. The average length of the custodial sentences received also fell slightly from 7.9 months in 2019 to 7.7 months in 2020.
Figure 2: Knife and offensive weapon offences by disposal type, England and Wales, annually 2010 (Source: Table 1)
Between 2010 and 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 37%, which remained stable before falling to 32% in 2020. This is due to changes during the pandemic, and a higher number of cases than for previous years which have been referred to the Crown Court for sentencing and are still awaiting final decisions. These are no longer accounted for using the estimation methodology and are currently included in the “other” disposal category.
Average custodial sentence length generally increased for all offence types and age groups between 2010 and 2019 but particularly for possession of blade or point offences where it increased from 5.6 months to 7.3 months, and for adults where it increased from 6.4 months to 8.0 months. The average custodial length for threatening offences remained stable, increasing 0.1 months from 13.4 months in 2019 to 13.5 months in 2020.
4. Offending History
For 72% 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 79% in 2010 to 72% in 2020 but has been stable at around 71% since 2017.
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 76% to 69% between 2010 and 2020 and the proportion for juveniles decreasing from 90% 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
2010 (Source:Interactive Pivot Table Tool)
Figure 3 shows the cautions or convictions for a knife or offensive weapon offence, broken down by number of previous convictions for a knife or offensive weapon offence. Figures for the most recent year show the number of first-time knife and offensive weapon offenders has fallen in 2020, due to Covid-19 restrictions. A similar pattern can be seen for those who have 1 previous conviction.
5. Sentencing under section 315 of the Sentencing Act 2020 (formerly section 28 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (CJCA))
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 315 of the Sentencing Act 2020 was 7.5 months in 2020.
This had risen between 2016, the first full year after the legislation was introduced, and 2019 but in 2020 fell back in all groups, almost to levels seen in 2017.
Figure 4: Knife and offensive weapons possession sentencing and cautioning occasions for adult repeat offenders, by disposal type, 2014 and annually from 2016 (Source: Interactive Pivot Table Tool and Table 7)
In 2014, 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 2020 three fifths (61%) of adult offenders sentenced under section 315 of the Sentencing Act 2020 received an immediate custodial sentence. Overall, 83% of adult offenders sentenced under section 315 of the Sentencing Act 2020 in 2020 received some form of custodial sentence, either immediate custody or a suspended sentence, compared to 69% of adult offenders with at least one previous knife and offensive weapons offence in 2014.
For 16- and 17-year olds, in 2020 31% of offenders sentenced under section 315 of the Sentencing Act 2020 received an immediate custodial sentence compared to 28% of knife and offensive weapons possession offenders with at least one previous knife and offensive weapons possession offence in 2014.
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: 18 November 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:
Mike Williams,
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 (10); Special Advisors (2); Grade 6, Sentencing Policy Unity; Deputy Director for Bail, Sentencing and Release Policy; Senior Policy Advisor, Custodial Sentencing Policy Unit; Policy Advisor, Custodial Sentencing 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 (5); Special Advisor; Head of Serious Violence Unit; Head of Knife Crime Team; Head of Serious Violence Priority Projects Unit; Policy Advisor, Serious Violence Unit; Statistician, Violent Crime; and relevant press officers (3).
Cabinet Office:
Deputy Director, Number 10 Delivery Unit; Senior Delivery Analyst, Number 10 Delivery Unit.