Knife crime data and information from May 2019 to October 2023

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.033478

I note you seek access to the following information:

Please could the Met Police provide data for the below questions for these time periods:

May 2019- April 2020
May 2020- April 2021
May 2021- April 2022
May 2022- April 2023
May 2023 – to date

1. The number of adults arrested for knife crime, per borough, broken down by sex.

2. The number of children under the age of 18 that have been arrested for knife crime, per borough, broken down by sex and age.

3. The number of children under 18 that have been charged for knife crime per borough, broken down by sex and age.

4. The number of children under 18 killed by knife crime per borough, broken down by sex and age.”

Clarification - you wrote to the MPS by email and stated:

“I am writing to check whether the Met will be responding to this request within the 20 working days timescale, or whether any of the information can be released earlier that than, given the Met’s concern about knife crime among young people.

Please could your team let me know the progress of this request.”

Clarification - I responded to your email and stated:

“I am processing your request for information with an analyst. I can confirm that the analyst has extracted the information to answer parts 3 and 4 of your request. It appears that they may not be able to answers parts 1 and 2 within the 18 hour cost limit of the Act. They are currently checking this for me.

Ordinarily if we claim the 18 hour research/cost exemption of the Act, we are required to refuse the whole request. However I appreciate from your email that you would like any information we can produce as quickly as possible. Would you like me to address questions 3 and 4 now and exclude questions 1 and 2? Going forward, this will mean you receive your information and I can inform you on the answer to questions 1 and 2 as soon as the analyst can confirm the position.

I look forward to your reply.”

Clarification - you wrote to me and stated:

“Thank you for coming back to me.
Please can you address questions three and four, and exclude questions one and two until you know if one and two are answerable within the 18 hour limit.”

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

CAVEATS
There is a data quality issue in respect of the recorded age within table 2 of the enclosed spreadsheet. We cannot confirm whether the ages of People Proceeded Against under the age of 10 years old have been recorded correctly.

CONTEXT
Knife crime and any violent crime has a devastating impact on individuals, their families, and the wider community. Tackling knife crime and violent crime remains the central focus for the Met and we know that coming together with the community and other agencies will build long lasting solutions for the future.

We are aware that there are variety of reasons that individuals choose to carry a knife, including for acceptance among friends or being afraid and think that by carrying a knife they are protecting themselves, when in fact they are increasing the risk of being stabbed or injured.

With this understanding, our officers are using a number of tactics to supress violent crime and increase trust amongst individuals and young people. We do this by ensuring visible policing presence in areas with higher level of violence, targeting the drivers of violence such as drugs, which we know are a catalyst for the violence we witness on or streets, as well as engaging in prevention and diversionary work.

DUTY TO ADVISE AND ASSIST
Under Section 16 of the Act, there is a duty to advise and assist those that have made, or intend to make, a request for information. In accordance with this duty, I can confirm that the MPS publishes information about various types of crime on its website. I have provided a link to this information below.

MPS Website: Stats and Data

It may also assist you to note that the MPS proactively publishes all disclosures made in response to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 on its Publication Scheme. I have provided a link to this section of the MPS website below.

MPS Publication Scheme

The MPS Publication Scheme can be searched using keywords and may accordingly hold other information that is of interest to you.