‘We are having success tackling knife crime’

24 April 2020

Humberside Police Federation chair Pete Musgrave has praised the hard work of members in tackling knife crime.

New figures from the Office for National Statistics released yesterday show that the number of knife offences in the Force area rose by one between January and December 2019, up to 652 from 651 the previous year.

It goes against the national trend, which saw a seven per cent increase in the total number of offences involving knives or sharp instruments in England and Wales (excluding Greater Manchester Police).

“One knife offence is one too many,” said Pete, “But it is pleasing to see that the hard work and dedication of our members in tackling knife crime is having some success.

“However, more can still be done to discourage people from carrying knives and where they are involved in knife offences we need to ensure offenders are properly punished to send out the strongest possible message.”

John Apter, chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, called for increased funding for forces to tackle knife crime.

He said: “Yet again we see the effects of austerity that have necessitated this current Government’s investment in funding and the 20,000-officer uplift announced last year – investment that will still only bring us back to pre-2008 levels.

“However, it will take time for the effects of this much needed investment to be felt and we can see the results in these figures.

“It is a tragedy that knife crime continues to spiral as my colleagues are stretched to their limits, and with fewer officers on patrol it comes as no surprise that street crime such as robbery has increased.”

Other statistics include:

• A three per cent decrease in recorded offences involving firearms
• A one per cent increase in vehicle offences
• A two per cent increase in the overall number of homicides, this includes a single incident with 39 homicide victims, which if excluded shows a four per cent decrease overall.

John added: “Understandably, the next, post COVID-19 release will look quite different, as long-term lockdown will affect the statistics. What this current crisis has highlighted, though, is the other story told in these figures – that policing desperately needs long-term, sustained funding unaffected by political priorities so that we can tackle crime head-on.”