Knife crime 2020 to 2024
4 April 2025
Request under the freedom of information act 2000 ref no FOI2025/02156.
I write in connection with your request for information received on 10 March. I note you seek access to the following information:
I’m looking into the numbers of knife related incidents which happen at schools.
I am requesting the following information under the Freedom of Information Act. Please can you confirm you have received this request.
Please can you tell me the following:
Q1: For the years 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 and 2024 the number of offences involving a knife committed at schools?
Q2: For the years 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 and 2024 the number of offences involving a knife at school broken down by offence subgroup as per the Home Office counting rules?
Q3: For the years 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 and 2024 the number of suspects for offences involving a knife committed at schools broken down by age and sex of the suspect?
Q4: For the years 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 and 2024 involving a knife committed at schools broken down by how the suspect knows the victim?
Q5: For the years 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 and 2024 the number of suspects for offences involving a knife committed at schools broken down by age and sex of the victim?
Q6: For the questions above, what method did you use to filter offences down to those committed at schools?
I am required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (The Act) to handle all requests in a manner that is blind to the identity of the requestor. Any information released in response to a request is regarded as being published and therefore, in the public domain without caveat.
Response: Following searches conducted on the Force’s crime & incident recording systems; please see the tables below.
Question 1 & 2
Recorded Knife Crime
Premises Type - School, College, University
Dates between: 1.1.2020 - 31.12.2024
| Educational Premises Crime Sub Group |
2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Grand Total |
| SCHOOL | 15 | 12 | 24 | 21 | 25 | 97 |
| Possession Of Weapons Offences | 11 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 45 |
| Violence Without Injury | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 17 |
| Public Order Offences | 1 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 15 |
| Violence With Injury | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 14 |
| Robbery - Personal | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Rape | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| COLLEGE | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 14 |
| Possession Of Weapons Offences | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Robbery - Personal | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Other Sexual Offences | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| UNIVERSITY | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Burglary - Residential | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Public Order Offences | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Question 3
Recorded Knife Crime - Offender Data
Premises Type - School, College, University
Dates between: 1.1.2020 - 31.12.2024
| Offender Gender Age |
2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Grand Total |
| Male | 16 | 13 | 19 | 15 | 14 | 77 |
| 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 12 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| 13 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 12 |
| 14 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 12 |
| 15 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 12 |
| 16 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 18 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 30 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Female | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 18 |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Grand Total | 19 | 13 | 22 | 18 | 23 | 95 |
Question 4
Recorded Knife Crime - Offender to Victim RELATIONSHIP
Premises Type - School, College, University
Dates between: 1.1.2020 - 31.12.2024
| Offender to Victim Relationship | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Grand Total |
| Associate | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Colleague / work | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Described person | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ex partner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Friend | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 13 |
| Relationship unknown | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 21 |
| Stranger | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Teacher | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Victim is crown | 12 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 41 |
| Grand Total | 19 | 13 | 22 | 18 | 23 | 95 |
Question 5
Recorded Knife Crime - Victim Data
Premises Type - School, College, University
Dates between: 1.1.2020 - 31.12.2024
| Victim Gender Age |
2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Grand Total |
| Male | 3 | 8 | 17 | 11 | 15 | 54 |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 10 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 11 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 12 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| 14 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| 15 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 18 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 51 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Not Recorded | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Female | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 53 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Not Recorded | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Grand Total | 5 | 9 | 19 | 14 | 19 | 66 |
Question 6
We carried search under Premises Type and addresses for School, College, University.
The numerical data presented in this response is an un-audited snapshot of un-published data sourced from "live" systems and is subject to the interpretation of the original request by the individual extracting the data.