LONDON (dpa-AFX) - More than 80,000 knives and dangerous weapons have been taken off Britain's streets and knife robberies in key hotspots are down by almost a quarter, according to the UK Home Office.
The weapons haul has been achieved since the General Election through Home Office surrender efforts, police and Border Force seizures, and intensified activity in knife crime hotspots and against criminal gangs, it said in a press release Friday.
The total includes new figures which show that 3,811 knives and weapons were handed in during a month of intensified action as part of the Home Office surrender arrangements in August.
Since June 2024, knife-enabled robbery has also plummeted by 24 percent across the 7 forces most affected: the Metropolitan Police, Greater Manchester, West Midlands, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Avon and Somerset, and British Transport Police. The forces have come together through the Home Office-led Knife Enabled Robbery Group to share intelligence and tactics to target offenders and hotspots.
Across England and Wales, knife crime is down by 11 percent since the General Election, equivalent to almost 6,000 fewer offences. Knife homicides are at a 35-year low, and hospital admissions following assault with a sharp object have fallen 16 percent.
In April this year, the NPCC-led and Home Office-funded National Knife Crime Centre was launched. This has already identified 186 grey-market weapons sellers and reported 183 social media handles suspected of promoting or selling dangerous weapons to platforms in order that they can be shut down.
As part of its plan to halve knife crime within a decade, the government is combining strong enforcement action with wider work to prevent people from being drawn into knife crime in the first place. This includes working with schools, Violence Reduction Units and local organisations to reach young people and others at risk of violence.
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