Knife crime is a broad term for criminal offences involving knives, sharply pointed articles or other bladed weapons. In England and Wales it can include carrying a knife in public without good reason, threatening another person with a blade, using a knife in robbery or assault, and homicide involving a sharp instrument.
The phrase is often used in public debate, but the legal position depends on the exact offence, the item, the place and the evidence. A lawful tool in one context can become criminally relevant in another.
Legal Position in England and Wales
Section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 makes it an offence to have an article with a blade or sharp point in a public place, unless a statutory exception or good reason applies. The section excludes a folding pocket knife with a cutting edge of 3 inches or less, but that exception does not make every use or every circumstance lawful.
The Prevention of Crime Act 1953 separately covers offensive weapons in public places. An item may be an offensive weapon because it was made for causing injury, adapted for causing injury, or carried with intent to cause injury.
Other offences may apply where a knife is used to threaten, injure, rob, burgle, damage property or intimidate another person. Schools, prisons and other controlled settings also have specific rules.
Good Reason and Lawful Authority
A person may have a lawful reason for carrying a blade. Common examples include work, religious dress, national costume, food preparation, fishing, camping, theatre work or transport of a tool for a genuine purpose.
The strength of the explanation depends on the facts. A chef carrying knives to work is different from a person carrying the same knife late at night with no work purpose. Carrying a knife in advance for possible self-defence is usually treated very differently from using reasonable force in an immediate emergency.
Recorded Knife Crime
The Office for National Statistics publishes police-recorded data on selected serious offences involving a knife or sharp instrument. For the year ending December 2025, the ONS reported 49,151 offences involving knives or sharp instruments in England and Wales, down from 54,548 in the year ending December 2024.
Knife crime statistics should be read carefully. They do not cover every possible knife offence, and recorded crime can be affected by reporting, recording practice and police activity. They are still useful for tracking serious violence and robbery involving blades over time.
Causes and Risk Factors
Knife crime is not caused by one factor. Research, policing experience and public policy usually point to overlapping risks:
- violent disputes between individuals or groups;
- robbery and street crime;
- drug-market conflict;
- fear, retaliation and perceived need for protection;
- exploitation of children and vulnerable people;
- local deprivation, exclusion and lack of trust in authorities;
- access to weapons and social pressure around carrying them.
These factors do not excuse offending. They help explain why prevention often needs more than enforcement alone.
Consequences
Knife crime can cause fatal injury, permanent disability, trauma and long-term fear in communities. It also affects families, witnesses, emergency workers, schools, hospitals and local businesses.
Emergency treatment for stabbing injuries can involve major surgery, blood transfusion, rehabilitation and psychological support. Even where no one is physically injured, threats with knives can have serious effects on victims.
Policing and Sentencing
Police can use stop and search powers where the legal grounds are met. They can also act on intelligence, weapon sweeps, targeted patrols, test purchasing and investigations into suppliers and online sales.
Sentencing depends on the offence and the facts. The Sentencing Council guideline for bladed articles and offensive weapons covers possession in public, possession on education premises, threats and unauthorised possession in prison. Aggravating features can include planned use, group offending, proximity to schools, previous convictions and high risk to the public.
Prevention
Prevention work often combines enforcement with early intervention. Examples include youth mentoring, school work, detached youth work, support for excluded pupils, family support, diversion from exploitation, community reporting routes and action against repeat violent offenders.
Campaigns can help, but they work best when linked to practical support and credible local services. Young people who carry knives out of fear may need a safe route away from the people or places driving that fear.
Practical Examples
Work Knife
A tradesperson carrying a sharp tool to and from work may have a good reason. The same item carried at a pub with no work purpose may not be explained in the same way.
Small Folding Pocket Knife
A folding pocket knife with a cutting edge of 3 inches or less is excluded from section 139, but it can still become evidence in other offences if used or carried as a weapon.
Immediate Self-Defence
The law on reasonable force concerns force used in the circumstances as a person honestly believed them to be. It does not create a general licence to carry a knife in public for possible future violence.
See Also
References
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