Criminals are being ‘emboldened’ by declining prosecution rates
As few as one in six crimes involving a knife, including murders, rapes and grievous bodily harm, are being solved by police as the number of offences hits a record high in parts of England and Wales.
Analysis of police data by The Telegraph revealed that seven police forces – a quarter of the total in England and Wales – saw knife crime hit a record high in the year ending March 2022.
However, the proportion of knife offences resulting in a charge or other criminal sanction fell by at least 50 per cent in the past six years, despite the seriousness of the crimes and the risk posed to the public.
