[holding answer 14 September 2009]: The information is provided by the Ministry of Justice.
Information showing the number of defendants found guilty at all courts of illegally carrying knives and other weapons in England and Wales, broken down by age and force for 2007 (latest available) can be viewed in the table. Court proceedings data are published by calendar year; 2007 is the latest available, data for 2008 are due to be available towards the end of 2009.
The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
Force Age Knives Other weapons Avon and Somerset 10-17 29 29 18 and over 134 148 Total 163 177 Bedfordshire 10-17 19 13 18 and over 43 75 Total 62 88 Cambridgeshire 10-17 11 11 18 and over 43 64 Total 54 75 Cheshire 10-17 15 20 18 and over 93 92 Total 108 112 City of London 10-17 0 0 18 and over 9 7 Total 9 7 Cleveland 10-17 15 15 18 and over 75 97 Total 90 112 Cumbria 10-17 8 16 18 and over 38 73 Total 46 89 Derbyshire 10-17 21 25 18 and over 78 118 Total 99 143 Devon and Cornwall 10-17 19 21 18 and over 119 95 Total 138 116 Dorset 10-17 13 11 18 and over 50 54 Total 63 65 Durham 10-17 21 33 18 and over 71 89 Total 92 122 Essex 10-17 32 43 18 and over 128 135 Total 160 178 Gloucestershire 10-17 10 17 18 and over 31 36 Total 41 53 Greater Manchester 10-17 76 125 18 and over 318 480 Total 394 605 Hampshire 10-17 37 58 18 and over 132 184 Total 169 242 Hertfordshire 10-17 18 29 18 and over 50 90 Total 68 119 Humberside 10-17 27 34 18 and over 120 112 Total 147 146 Kent 10-17 0 36 18 and over 5 152 Total 5 188 Lancashire 10-17 24 64 18 and over 127 200 Total 151 264 Leicestershire 10-17 26 40 18 and over 92 132 Total 118 172 Lincolnshire 10-17 4 16 18 and over 43 58 Total 47 74 Merseyside 10-17 39 67 18 and over 176 290 Total 215 357 Metropolitan Police 10-17 321 415 18 and over 1,138 1,448 Total 1,459 1,863 Norfolk 10-17 8 15 18 and over 70 66 Total 78 81 North Yorkshire 10-17 12 25 18 and over 40 77 Total 52 102 Northamptonshire 10-17 1 6 18 and over 3 33 Total 4 39 Northumbria 10-17 62 76 18 and over 197 269 Total 259 345 Nottinghamshire 10-17 35 48 18 and over 117 165 Total 152 213 South Yorkshire 10-17 31 47 18 and over 107 163 Total 138 210 Staffordshire 10-17 21 30 18 and over 65 138 Total 86 168 Suffolk 10-17 17 17 18 and over 72 66 Total 89 83 Surrey 10-17 5 12 18 and over 37 46 Total 42 58 Sussex 10-17 31 34 18 and over 109 119 Total 140 153 Thames Valley 10-17 25 41 18 and over 114 153 Total 139 194 Warwickshire 10-17 6 8 18 and over 26 43 Total 32 51 West Mercia 10-17 19 21 18 and over 81 101 Total 100 122 West Midlands 10-17 77 121 18 and over 315 420 Total 392 541 West Yorkshire 10-17 36 60 18 and over 154 265 Total 190 325 Wiltshire 10-17 11 9 18 and over 37 48 Total 48 57 Dyfed-Powys 10-17 9 6 18 and over 26 28 Total 35 34 Gwent 10-17 13 12 18 and over 53 72 Total 66 84 North Wales 10-17 10 21 18 and over 79 94 Total 89 115 South Wales 10-17 16 33 18 and over 124 209 Total 140 242 England and Wales 10-17 1230 1780 18 and over 4939 6804 Total 6,169 8,584 1 Covers; Criminal Justice Act 1988 S139, S139A(1)(5)(a) 2 Covers; Criminal Justice Act 1988 S139A(2)(5)(b). Firearms Act 1968 S1(1). S5(1). S5(1)(b),S5(1A)(b)('c),(d)(e)(f) or (g), 5(1A)(a), S2(1), S16.S16A, S17(2), S18 (1), S19, S21(4) S22(2),(3)1(4),{5). Prevention of Crime Act 1953 S1(1). 3 The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 4 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Evidence and Analysis Unit—Office for Criminal Justice Reform Ref: IOS 445-09