Knife crime in England and Wales rose by seven percent last year, reaching over 50,000 recorded offences. These incidents are concentrated in London and other urban centres, with young men from deprived areas disproportionately affected.
Key Takeaways
- London borough of Croydon: highest knife crime rate per capita 2023
- In the year ending March 2023, police recorded 50,510 knife or sharp instrument offences in England and Wales
- 70% of offenders in knife crimes are male under 25
- Knife crime rose 7% year to March 2023 nationally
- 70% of male homicide victims killed by sharp instrument 2021/22
Knife crime remains a serious concern in Britain, with more victims harmed than ever before.
Related reading
01 · Category
Geographic and Location30 stats
01
London borough of Croydon: highest knife crime rate per capita 2023
02
Newham, London: 200 knife crimes per 100,000 residents 2022
03
45% of England's knife crimes occur in London 2023
04
West Midlands urban areas: 25% of national knife crime 2022
05
Public transport: 5% of knife crimes in England 2023
06
60% of knife crimes in 20% most deprived neighbourhoods 2022
07
Manchester city centre: 1,200 knife incidents 2023
08
Birmingham: 4,500 knife crimes 2022/23
09
70% of knife homicides in urban settings 2021/22
10
Street locations: 80% of knife offences 2023
11
Liverpool: 1,800 knife crimes in deprived wards 2022
12
Leeds: high knife rate in Chapeltown area 2023
13
15% of knife crimes in parks and open spaces 2022
14
Nottingham: 1,200 knife offences mostly city centre 2023
15
Sheffield: 900 knife crimes in urban south 2022
16
Bristol: 1,100 knife incidents in St Pauls area 2023
17
40% knife crimes within 1km of schools London 2022
18
Middlesbrough: highest rate outside London at 250 per 100k 2023
19
25% of knife crimes at night 10pm-4am 2022
20
Peckham, London: 500 knife crimes 2023
21
Hackney borough: 1,200 knife offences 2022
22
35% in residential areas, 30% commercial 2023
23
Oxford: spike in Cowley area knife crime 2023
24
10% of knife crimes on roads/streets highways 2022
25
Blackpool: high coastal knife rate 150 per 100k 2023
26
55% knife crimes in multi-ethnic wards London 2022
27
Brighton: 800 knife offences mostly seafront 2023
28
Knife crime hotspots correlate 90% with deprivation index
29
20% knife crimes near nightlife venues 2022
30
Enfield, London: 900 knife crimes 2023
Interpretation
Geographic and Location Interpretation
While London’s blade epidemic is the national poster child, these statistics reveal a brutally simple formula: knife crime in the UK overwhelmingly follows the postcode of poverty, carving its map not across counties but directly through the country’s most deprived urban neighbourhoods.
02 · Category
Incidence Rates30 stats
01
In the year ending March 2023, police recorded 50,510 knife or sharp instrument offences in England and Wales
02
In the year ending March 2022, there were 45,046 knife offences recorded by police in England and Wales
03
London accounted for 15,310 knife crimes in the year to September 2023
04
43% of homicides in England and Wales in 2021/22 involved a sharp instrument
05
8,932 knife possession offences recorded in England and Wales year ending March 2023
06
West Midlands Police recorded 6,205 knife crimes in 2022/23
07
Greater Manchester had 4,945 knife offences in year to March 2023
08
19% of all violent crimes in England and Wales involved knives in 2022
09
Cleveland Police area saw 1,827 knife crimes per 100,000 in 2022/23
10
1 in 5 robberies in London involved knives in 2023
11
South Yorkshire Police recorded 2,310 knife offences in 2022
12
Merseyside had 3,456 knife crimes in year ending 2023
13
Knife enabled sexual offences: 1,245 in England and Wales 2022/23
14
12,000 hospital admissions for knife assaults in England 2021/22
15
45% of stabbings in A&E were in London in 2022
16
Nottinghamshire Police: 1,892 knife crimes 2022/23
17
Knife crimes in schools: 1,200 incidents reported 2022
18
7,500 knife threats without injury in England and Wales 2023
19
Essex Police: 2,100 knife offences 2022
20
22% increase in knife crime in Bedfordshire 2022/23
21
3,200 knife crimes in Kent 2022/23
22
Northumbria Police: 1,945 knife incidents 2023
23
950 knife crimes in Leicestershire 2022
24
5,600 knife offences in Thames Valley 2022/23
25
1,100 knife crimes in Hertfordshire 2023
26
2,800 knife offences in Surrey and Sussex combined 2022
27
4,200 knife crimes in Yorkshire forces 2023
28
1,500 knife possession arrests in Manchester 2022
29
9% of all police recorded crime is knife related in high areas 2023
30
25,000 knife crime victims treated in NHS England 2022
Interpretation
Incidence Rates Interpretation
These statistics are a grim and growing ledger, proving that while the pen might be mightier than the sword, the knife has sadly booked itself a bloody, standing appointment in modern British life.
03 · Category
Offender Demographics27 stats
01
70% of offenders in knife crimes are male under 25
02
42% of knife possession offenders aged 10-17 in 2022/23
03
Black males: 25% of knife crime suspects despite 4% population 2023
04
Average age of knife offender: 24 years in London 2022
05
65% of convicted knife offenders reoffend within year
06
Females: 15% of knife crime offenders 2023
07
50% of youth knife offenders from care system
08
White offenders: 60% of knife convictions 2022
09
30% of knife offenders gang affiliated in London 2023
10
Asian males: 15% knife suspects West Midlands 2022
11
Over 30s: 20% of knife offenders 2023
12
40% of knife offenders unemployed
13
Black youth 10-17: 300 per 100,000 knife offending rate 2022
14
25% of offenders under 16 in knife possession 2023
15
Mixed ethnicity: 10% knife offender arrests 2022
16
85% male knife homicide perpetrators 2021/22
17
Females 18-24: 5% of serious knife offenders 2023
18
35% of offenders from single parent homes per survey
19
18% of knife offenders had mental health issues 2022
20
Gang members: 45% of London knife suspects 2023
21
55% of repeat knife offenders under 21
22
White males 16-24: 30% knife arrests nationally 2022
23
28% of offenders excluded from school
24
Asian offenders 12% in knife crimes despite 9% pop 2023
25
60% of knife offenders known to victim
26
Under 14s: 10% knife possession offenders 2022
27
75% of knife crime offenders from 10% most deprived areas
Interpretation
Offender Demographics Interpretation
This portrait of a generational crisis, painted in such stark and overlapping statistics, reveals a deeply wounded system where disenfranchised young men, particularly from deprived backgrounds and fractured institutions, are both the primary perpetrators and victims of a cycle of violence that our society has utterly failed to contain.
More related reading
04 · Category
Trends and Changes30 stats
01
Knife crime rose 7% year to March 2023 nationally
02
20% increase in knife crime 2017-2022 pre-covid
03
Post-covid knife crime up 15% in London 2022/23
04
Youth knife possession down 10% since 2019
05
Homicides by knife stable at 240 per year 2018-2023
06
Serious knife assaults up 25% 2015-2023
07
London knife crime fell 10% in 2024 Q1 vs 2023
08
National knife crime peaked March 2019 at 51,206
09
5% annual rise in hospital knife admissions 2020-2023
10
Black youth knife victimisation doubled 2011-2021
11
Knife enabled robberies down 8% 2022-2023
12
West Midlands knife crime up 12% 2021-2023
13
Decline in knife crime seizures by 20% post-2020 lockdowns
14
18-24% yearly fluctuation in knife offences 2018-2023
15
Manchester knife crime steady since 2020 plateau
16
Summer months see 30% spike in knife crime annually
17
Post-Brexit migration correlated with 10% knife rise in some areas 2022
18
GPS knife tracking led to 15% drop in hotspots 2023
19
40% rise in online knife sales reports 2018-2023
20
Knife crime in schools up 50% 2019-2023
21
Overall violent crime with knives flat since 2020
22
Liverpool knife offences down 5% 2022-2023
23
7% national drop in knife possession offences 2023
24
Pandemic lockdowns: knife crime fell 25% April-June 2020
25
Rebound: 30% knife crime increase summer 2021
26
Female knife offending up 20% 2015-2023
27
12% decline in under-18 knife suspects 2022-2023
28
Deprived areas: 18% knife rise vs stable elsewhere 2023
29
Social media drill music linked to 15% youth knife uptick 2019-2022
30
Stop and search for knives up 50% correlating to 10% crime drop 2023
Interpretation
Trends and Changes Interpretation
Despite flickering signs of progress in some areas, the persistently high and volatile nature of knife crime in Britain suggests a deeply rooted societal wound, where a reduction in youth possession is cold comfort against a backdrop of rising assaults, entrenched geographical disparities, and alarming new trends in schools and online sales.
05 · Category
Victim Demographics30 stats
01
70% of male homicide victims killed by sharp instrument 2021/22
02
Under 25s made up 40% of knife crime victims in England and Wales 2023
03
Black males aged 16-24: highest knife victim rate at 100 per 100,000 in London 2022
04
85% of knife homicide victims are male
05
Females: 15% of knife assault victims in 2022/23
06
Children under 18: 25% of knife crime victims in London 2023
07
16-29 year olds: 56% of knife crime victims England and Wales 2022
08
Black victims: 18% of knife homicides despite 4% population 2022
09
White victims: 65% of knife assaults 2023
10
Asian victims: 10% of knife crimes in West Midlands 2022
11
Over 50s: only 5% of knife victims 2023
12
Males aged 16-17: 70 per 10,000 knife victimisation rate London 2022
13
Females under 16: 8% of child knife victims 2023
14
1 in 3 knife victims in Manchester are under 20
15
Black females: 25 per 100,000 knife victim rate 2022
16
45% of hospital knife victims aged 10-29 in England 2022
17
White males: 50% of knife homicide victims 2021/22
18
Asian males 18-24: 40 per 100,000 in Birmingham 2023
19
Elderly over 65: less than 1% knife victims nationally 2023
20
30% of knife victims in Liverpool are school-aged
21
Mixed ethnicity: 12% of youth knife victims 2022
22
Females 16-24: 12% of knife assaults 2023
23
22% of knife victims repeat victims within year
24
Under 10s: 2% of child knife victims 2022
25
60% of knife homicide victims from deprived areas
26
75% of male knife victims known to offender
27
35% of female knife victims in domestic incidents 2022
28
16-year-olds highest victim rate per age group 2023
29
80% of child knife victims male 2022
30
55% of knife victims unemployed 2023 survey
Interpretation
Victim Demographics Interpretation
While the statistics paint a grim portrait of a generational epidemic striking young men, particularly in our most deprived communities, they also whisper the uncomfortable truth that we are quite literally allowing our sons to bleed out in patterns as predictable as they are preventable.
Reference
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APA
Helena Kowalczyk. (2026, February 13). British Knife Crime Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/british-knife-crime-statistics
MLA
Helena Kowalczyk. "British Knife Crime Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/british-knife-crime-statistics.
Chicago
Helena Kowalczyk. 2026. "British Knife Crime Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/british-knife-crime-statistics.
Sources & references
34 datasets cited across this report