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Knife crime offences

Total knife and sharp instrument offences recorded by police in England and Wales.

49.6k offences
+3.8% vs previous period

As of 2024

Historical trend

40k 45k 50k 201620202024

Trend summary

Police in England and Wales recorded 50,489 knife crime offences in the year to December 2024, a 4% fall from the previous year.

Trend

  • Knife crime recorded by police rose from around 28,000 offences in 2013–14 to a peak of around 53,000 in 2023–24.
  • The 4% fall in the most recent year is the first annual decline since 2013–14.
  • Knife crime rates are highest in London and metropolitan areas; rural rates are substantially lower.

Context

  • Home Office crime statistics record offences known to the police; recording practices and police activity affect trends.
  • Knife crime offences include possession, threats, and violence; they are not limited to wounding or serious injury.

Trend summary generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 on 23 January 2025. Contains no editorial judgement — describes direction, magnitude, and official projections only.

About this indicator

Source
Home Office
Update frequency
Annual
Last updated
25 July 2024 Data may be out of date
Licence
OGL v3
Rising trend is…
Negative

Statistics

Latest
49551.0 offences
Period high
49551.0
Period low
39785.0
Period average
44638.3