Knife crime rates in Greater Manchester continue to rise

Anti-knife crime charity the Ben Kinsella Trust warns surging knife crime rates are no longer confined to major cities and that “every village, town and city” should be aware of the scale of the crisis.

Greater Manchester Police recorded 3,671 offences involving a knife or a sharp weapon in 2019-20, Office for National Statistics data shows: up one per cent from 3,619 offences in 2018-19.

There were roughly 129 knife or sharp weapon offences per 100,000 people in GM last year, the figures show, in line with a year earlier.

Knife crime has risen nationalloy in recent years, the ONS said, with a record 50,000 offences recorded by police in the year leading up to the coronavirus crisis. Of those, 22,012 were for assault with injury or assault with intent to cause serious harm, and 21,961 were used in a robbery.

The ONS said despite improved crime recording methods, increases are likely to reflect a real rise in the number of knife and sharp weapon offences nationally.

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