Knife Crime Statistics Sheffield/ South Yorkshire

General Statistics of knife crime

• An average of four knife-related offences being recorded every day in South Yorkshire between March 2021 and March 2022.
  (https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/crime/equivalent-of-four-knife-crimes-reported-every-day-in-south-yorkshire-as-incidents-rocket-by-19-per-cent-3929026)
• The most common weapon type was knife / dagger (42%), followed by kitchen knife (19%). Other weapons included Stanley knife, lock knife, glass bottle and machete.
  (https://www.southyorks.police.uk/media/2348/1516_sheffield_knife_crime_strategy_2018_19_03.pdf)
• Sheffield is the most dangerous major city in South Yorkshire. The overall crime rate in Sheffield in 2021 was 91 crimes per 1,000 people.
  (https://crimerate.co.uk/south-yorkshire/sheffield)

Ministry of Justice figures show 475 knife and offensive weapon offenders were cautioned or convicted in South Yorkshire in the year to March with 140 (29 per cent) resulting in custody. However, this was up from 27 per cent in 2020-21, but down from 38 per cent in 2019-20.
(https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/crime/sheffield-knife-crime-seven-criminals-who-were-jailed-in-2022-for-stabbings-3960903)

Hospital Statistics of knife crime

• How many times have police been called to hospitals in the trust area to deal with incidents involving violent behaviour of patients or hospital visitors in each year from 2013 to present? (Knife crime specific)
  • 2013 = 37
  • 2014 = 47
  • 2015 = 73
  • 2016 = 67
  • 2017 = 53
  • 2018 = 42
  • 2019 = 9
• Nearly 10 hospitalised a day (2020) for violent attacks sheffield and an analysis of NHS figures show there were 3,565 admissions to hospitals in Yorkshire in the year ending March 2020.
• These figures include people assaulted by bodily force, such as punching and kicking, as well as serious injuries inflicted by knives, sharp objects and blunt objects.
• There were 30 admissions to Sheffield Children’s Hospital for patients with assault injuries, meaning children are among those injured.
  (https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/crime/nearly-ten-hospital-admissions-day-violent-attacks-and-knife-crime-yorkshire-last-year-figures-reveal-2981085)

Children/Under 18 Statistics

1. Twenty-six per cent of named offenders were under the age of 18, committing a range of offences from possession to murder.
   – (https://www.southyorks.police.uk/media/2348/1516_sheffield_knife_crime_strategy_2018_19_03.pdf)
2. A random dip sample of 10% of offences noted pupils as young as eight years old were using knives to make threats in schools.
   – https://www.southyorks.police.uk/media/2348/1516_sheffield_knife_crime_strategy_2018_19_03.pdf
3. Of the youngsters convicted in South Yorkshire, the vast majority (90 per cent) were first-time offenders but 83 had at least one previous conviction, and six had three or more.
   (https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/crime/knife-crime-in-south-yorkshire-more-than-400-cautions-and-convictions-for-children-aged-15-and-under-3472909)
4. Ministry of Justice figures for South Yorkshire Police show young people were involved in 838 of the 4,898 cases resulting in cautions or convictions between July 2010 and June 2021 –  making up 17 per cent of those punished and 446 of those punishments were handed to children aged between just 10 and 15.
   – (https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/crime/knife-crime-in-south-yorkshire-more-than-400-cautions-and-convictions-for-children-aged-15-and-under-3472909)

Criminal Justices’ statistics of knife crime

1. In the year to September 2021, the criminal justice system handed down 497 punishments for knife crime offences in South Yorkshire, 128 – 26 per cent – of which were immediate jail sentences
   – https://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/news/crime/fewer-knife-crime-offenders-going-to-jail-in-south-yorkshire-3606702
2. In South Yorkshire, 142 people with previous convictions were cautioned or convicted for knife crimes, including 27 with two convictions and 21 with three or more.
   a. Of them, 64 were sent straight to prison, meaning 78 repeat knife offenders received non-custodial sentences or cautions.
   – (https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/crime/fewer-knife-crime-offenders-going-to-jail-in-south-yorkshire-3606692)