Cheshire Police has caught 29 children with knives

New figures from the Ministry of Justice highlight that 29 under-18s were caught carrying knives by officers from Cheshire Police between 2022-23.

The data also shows that three-quarters of knife crime offenders in Cheshire had no previous knife-related convictions or cautions.

A large number of individuals arrested for knife offences had no previous links to knife crime (Image: Cheshire Police)

184 individuals went through the justice system who had not previously been linked to knife offences, as of March 2023.

Those individuals made up 74 per cent of all knife crime offenders found guilty in the last year.

Just 30 per cent of these offenders were jailed immediately - roughly 55 individuals.

Across England and Wales, just 30 per cent of knife crime offenders were given an immediate custodial sentence, which is down from 37 per cent in 2020.

In Cheshire, offenders were cautioned or sentenced 250 times for knife-related crimes; 41 per cent resulted in immediate jail sentences – fewer than in 2019-20, when the figure stood at 43 per cent.

Cheshire Constabulary caught children aged under 18 with knives 29 times in 2022-23, a decrease from 33 the year before.

Chief executive of the Ben Kinsella Trust - a charity raising awareness regarding knife crime - Patrick Green said: “One possibility is that young people are feeling increasingly unsafe and that they are mistakenly carrying knives for protection.

“Protecting our youth and fostering a safe environment for all should be a government priority.”

In Cheshire, offenders were cautioned or sentenced 250 times for knife-related crimes (Image: Newsquest)

He added children are influenced by social media, which 'often portrays knives in a glamorised way' and said young people must be provided with the necessary support, education, and opportunities to steer them away from violence.

Of those cautioned or sentenced, 92 per cent were men, similar to 93 per cent the year before.

Overall, there were 19,086 knife offences that resulted in a caution or sentence in England and Wales to March this year, which was a slight decrease on the previous year’s figure of 19,674.