Information on possession of a knife is contained in the following table. Statistics for 2007 will be published in the autumn.
In such instances as a robbery or violent assault where an individual has used a knife or other offensive weapon then they will principally be sentenced for the more serious transgression; the figures for such more serious offences as robbery do not isolate the specific use of a knife in such circumstances.
Defendants Offence Type of sentence Possession of offensive weapons without lawful authority or reasonable excuse2 Having an article with a blade or point in a public place Having an article with a blade or point on school premises Possession of weapons without lawful authority or reasonable excuse on school premises Total 2002 Total sentenced 5,441 5,269 57 21 10,788 Custodial sentence 787 766 7 5 1,565 Non-custodial sentence3 4,654 4,503 50 16 9,223 2003 Total sentenced 5,470 5,374 88 22 10,954 Custodial sentence 760 755 6 4 1,525 Non-custodial sentence3 4,710 4,619 82 18 9,429 2004 Total sentenced 5,758 5,802 106 33 11,699 Custodial sentence 817 803 12 4 1,636 Non-custodial sentence3 4,941 4,999 94 29 10,063 2005 Total sentenced 5,689 5,957 45 30 11,721 Custodial sentence 829 965 5 3 1,802 Non-custodial sentence3 4,860 4,992 40 27 9,919 2006 Total sentenced 5,630 6,284 50 40 12,004 Custodial sentence 788 1,070 5 3 1,866 Non-custodial sentence3 4,842 5,214 45 37 10,138 1 Principal offence basis. 2 Will include knives, but information collected centrally does not provide a distinction between them and other offensive weapons. 3 Non-custodial sentences include absolute and conditional discharge, fine, community sentence, suspended sentence and otherwise dealt with. Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. Source: RDS-NOMS, Ministry of Justice