New figures have revealed a spike in the number of serious violent crimes involving knives in the North East.
Across the Northumbria Police area, there were 60 more robberies where a blade was used in 2022 compared to the previous year and 33 more threats to kill. The statistics, which cover Northumberland and the five boroughs of Tyne and Wear, also show jumps in the number of rapes and attempted murders where knives were used.
Kim McGuinness, the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), said that knife crime was a “real concern” for the region. A report of hers that will be presented to councillors on Tuesday provides new data on a series of knife-enabled serious violent crimes, with the total number increasing from 882 in 2021 to 981 in 2022.
Read More: Stab victim's family urging shops to stock 'safer' knives without points
The full breakdown was:
- Attempted murder – five in 2021, increased to eight in 2022;
- Threats to kill – 100 in 2021, increased to 133 in 2022;
- Assault with intent to cause serious harm – 321 in 2021, decreased by two to 319 in 2022;
- Assault with injury – 272 in 2022, increased to 276 in 2022;
- Sexual assault – eight in 2021, decreased to five in 2022;
- Rape – nine in 2021, increased to 13 in 2022;
- Robbery – 167 in 2021, increased to 227 in 2022.
There were a total of 22,889 violent crimes reported to Northumbria Police during 2022, an estimated four per cent of which involve knives. Another recent statistic showed that there had been a 14% in knife-enabled serious offences in the Northumbria area, rising from 899 in the 12 months up to February 2022 to 1,023 in the subsequent year.
Ms McGuinness said: “Our region is no exception to the rest of the country; knife crime is a real concern. Over the last decade we’ve seen things getting worse and every number tells a story – individuals, families, households, all impacted by serious violence.
“So, we have to ask why, what has gone wrong? There really is no denying it; spending cuts to our public services has consequences, awful ones. You can’t expect to see these figures improve if we have fewer cops on the streets and our youth clubs are being forced to close their doors, forced to abandon the kids who need positive role models and opportunities.
“There is nothing more important than investing in young people and their futures. We have laid out very determined plans to tackle serious violence in the North East and we know what is working but funding only goes so far.
“We really want to be reaching many more young people with interventions, with mentoring and with education. We have put youth specialists in A&E departments, in our schools, and on our public transport – even in custody suites. Last year my Violence Reduction Unit reached around 30,000 kids with knife crime sessions but there will always be more we can reach, more lives we can improve and more crime we can prevent.”
The Chronicle launched its Stop Knives Taking Lives campaign in February. Backed by police, politicians and victims’ families, we are calling on everyone in the North East to come together to help tackle knife crime.
Read Next:
- 'They're still walking about knowing what they've done': Stabbed teen's nana tortured as killer remains at large
- Northumbria Police seizes more than five blades a day as battle to get deadly knives off our streets goes on
- Northumbria Police recovers 470 knives and arrests 141 in knife crime clampdown
- 'Knives are not trophies' - Mum of murdered Connor Brown urges people to stop carrying weapons
- Teens from Gateshead's Springwell Estate campaign for street lights following murder of Tomasz Oleszak
