Knife crime 10-17 year olds (FOI ref: 1705A/24)

Request

I would like to know how many knife-related offences were carried out by 10-17 year olds as well as how many were charged with the offence separately in the years 2022, 2023 and 2024 so far.

Response

See following table and please note – “We are committed to reducing knife crime and serious youth violence across the region.  This is a top priority for the force, and we are taking proactive steps to address this critical issue and protect those most at risk of harm.

“We have made significant progress in understanding the issues and data that lead to a knife being carried or used across the West Midlands. Through Project Guardian, we now have teams that are dedicated to taking weapons off the streets, identifying those at risk and criminal activity that relates to knife crime. Our patrols are specific, putting officers in places where knife crime is predicted, at the times it is most likely to happen. 

“Every local policing area has dedicated school’s intervention and prevention officers who work with schools and partners to support young people and offer guidance and advice around keeping safe and diverting away from dangerous or criminal activities.”

TABLE. Knife Crime (ADR160) offences recorded between 01 January 2022 and 29 October 2024^, where defendants aged 10-17 years:

^ 2024 = Part year

* The number of 10-17 year olds charged is higher than the number of offences resulting in a charge because one offence may involve multiple offenders that are charged in line with one crime.

Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that this data has been extracted from a number of data sources used by forces for police purposes. The detail collected to respond specifically to your request may be subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when interpreting the data.

The figures provided therefore are our best interpretation of data which has relevance to your request, but you should be aware that the collation of figures for ad hoc requests may have limitations, and this should be taken into account when those data are used.  

If you decide to write an article / use the enclosed data we would ask you to take into consideration the factors highlighted in this document so as to not mislead members of the public or official bodies or misrepresent the relevance of the whole or any part of this disclosed material.