Hundreds of local youngsters involved in knife crime

More than 1,500 Greater Manchester children were convicted or cautioned for knife crimes in just over a decade, figures show.
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The Government has pledged to do more to protect young people from knife crime and get weapons off the streets, after knife and offensive weapons convictions among under-18s rose significantly across England and Wales before the pandemic.

Ministry of Justice figures for Greater Manchester Police show young people were involved in 1,553 of the 9,362 cases resulting in cautions or convictions between July 2010 and June 2021 – making up 17 per cent of those punished. And 651 of those punishments were handed to children aged between just 10 and 15.

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The true scale of crimes involving children is likely to be higher as the data is limited to the possession of knives or offensive weapons and threats involving such weapons; it does not include assaults, murders or other kinds of weapons offences.

Youngsters with knives is a major problem in Greater ManchesterYoungsters with knives is a major problem in Greater Manchester
Youngsters with knives is a major problem in Greater Manchester

Of the youngsters convicted in Greater Manchester, 86 per cent were first time offenders but 210 had at least one previous conviction, and 12 had three or more. Young offenders were sent to prison in 238 of the cases recorded in the last 11 years, while 729 investigations ended with community sentences and 490 led to a caution.

The Ben Kinsella Trust, established in memory of a teen knifed to death at the age of 16, called for more to be done to educate young people on the dangers of knife crime. The charity’s CEO, Patrick Green, said the figures illustrated the negative impact knife crime was having on young lives, adding “no child was born carrying a knife”.

He said: “We should not forget that young people are also increasingly likely to be victims.”

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The latest national figures show nearly 38,500 punishments were issued to youngsters for knife and offensive weapon crime since July 2010 – 3,600 in the year to June. That was up six per cent on the year before – though the previous 12-month period included the first national lockdown and pandemic-related disruption to the criminal justice system.

Of the cautions and convictions in 2020-21, 166 were handed down in GM.

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