Knife crime on the rise across Hertfordshire

New figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal a offences involving a bladed article increased by more than a quarter last year.

Figures for the 12 months to March show a 20 per cent surge in knife and gun crime across the country.

The total number of crimes reported across England and Wales rose by 10 per cent over the same period - the biggest increase in a decade.

The ONS’ John Flatley said: “While ongoing improvements to recording practices are driving this volume rise, we believe actual increases in crime are also a factor in a number of categories.

On Parliament’s last day of term (Thursday), official documents were released showing police force numbers have dropped to a 30-year low.

Chief Inspector Sian Lockley, of Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Crime Reduction Unit, said: “Knife crime remains very low in Hertfordshire, compared to other parts of the country, although we have seen an increase in the number of offences involving bladed items over the last year.

“This increase is in part due to changes and improvements in the way crimes are recorded, and better use of stop and search powers, which has increased the number of people we have detected in possession of these items.

“The figures released by the Home Office relate to any recorded crimes where a bladed implement has been used or mentioned by a witness or victim. This can also include things like glass, broken bottles et cetera, and may only be where the threat of such an implement has been recorded.

“Therefore it is not strictly ‘knife crime’ as we do not currently have a category specific to knife related crime.”

Hertfordshire Constabulary is currently taking part in Operation Sceptre, a national knife crime campaign which aims to rid the UK’s streets of knives.

The amnesty will runs until Sunday, during which members of the public will be able to surrender any unwanted knives to the police anonymously and without fear of prosecution for possession.