(2) how many people convicted of carrying knives received the maximum custodial sentence available in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
The information requested, for England and Wales, for the years 2003 to 2005, is contained in the table.
Court proceedings statistics for 2006 will be available in the autumn.
Offence Statute Year Total persons sentenced Non-custodial sentence Custodial sentence Persons given maximum custodial sentence2 Having an article with a blade or point in a public place Criminal Justice Act 1988 sec 139 as amended by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 sec 3 2003 5,311 4,556 755 1 2004 5,802 4,999 803 — 2005 5,957 4,992 965 1 Having an article with a blade or point on school premises Criminal Justice Act 1988 sec139A(1) and (5)(1) as added by the Offensive Weapons Act 1996 sec 4(1) 2003 88 82 6 — 2004 106 94 12 — 2005 45 40 5 — Possession of offensive weapons3 without lawful authority or reasonable excuse Prevention of Crime Act 1953 sec 1 as amended by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 sec 2(1) 2003 5,394 4,634 760 — 2004 5,758 4,941 817 — 2005 5,689 4,860 829 2 Possession of offensive weapons3 without lawful authority or reasonable excuse on school premises Criminal Justice Act 1988 sec139A(2) and (5)(b) as added by the Offensive Weapons Act 1996 sec 4(1) 2003 21 17 4 — 2004 33 29 4 — 2005 30 27 3 — 1 Principal offence basis. 2 Two years for blade or point offences and four years for offensive weapon offences. 3 Will include knives but information collected centrally does not provide a distinction between them and other offensive weapons. Source: RDS-NOMS, Home Office