By Greg Dawson
Recently a BBC freedom of information request as revealed knife crime statistics across the country with they converted into an infographic.
This information was obtained from 34 of 43 police forces and shows serious knife offences, giving a colour grading to each area across the UK. Each area shows knife crime per 10,000 people as well as the percentage growth of crime between 2016 and 2018.
The worst area for knife crime was Haringey, London but some of the most surprising information shown on the infographic is the increase of knife crime in areas outside of London.
Haringey 27.4 per 10,000 people
1.3% growth 2016 -2018
Manchester 24.4 per 10,000 people
2.2% growth 2016 -2018
Birmingham 15.1 per 10,000 people
1.4% growth 2016 – 2018
Bradford 11.9 per 10,000 people
1.4% growth 2016 – 2018
Liverpool 16.3 per 10,000 people
1.7% growth 2016-2018
Kirklees 13.1 per 10,000 people
1.6% growth 2016-2018
Stop Knife Crime Poster (Source: West Yorkshire Police)
Kirklees ranks high on the table, its number of crimes matching many London boroughs and its growth in knife crime exceeding most other areas in the country. Many Kirklees residents who have seen the frequency of reports across news platforms on knife crime, may not be surprised by these figures but in comparison to the rest of the country, they become much more worrying figures.
In April police forces across the country received additional funding, including Kirklees, to tackle serious violence and knife crime. This has been named Operation Jemlock #OpJemlock.
Kirklees District police have recently begun an intensification week to tackle knife crime across the area. This started on the 2nd of September including working with Kirklees College, test purchasing across shops for large and small knives and officers deployed in greater number across Huddersfield.
Detective Inspector Mark Catney, of Kirklees CID, said: “Over the past week, together with various partner agencies and officers from across Kirklees, we have been conducting numerous proactive policing operations with an aim to tackle knife crime and violent crime.
“The results we have achieved in such a short space of time has been fantastic. I hope that these types of operations provide reassurance to our communities and residents that knife crime and violent crime is a priority for us and we are continually working to tackle this issue within the Kirklees District.”
The Full list of knife crime statistics can be found here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49923129
For more information go to: https://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/news-appeals/intensification-week-action-tackle-knife-crime-kirklees