Offences involving a knife in Greater Manchester increased by 6% between 2023 and 2024, according Home Office data.
A total of 3,452 offences involving a knife were recorded by Greater Manchester Police last year.
Offences including assault, robbery, rape and sexual assault involving knives all saw an increase in 2024. Attempted murder and homicide offences decreased and the number of threats to kill offences remained the same.
The data shows that the North West had the highest total number of offences involving knives outside of London with 6,536 offences. Greater Manchester makes up just over half (52.8%) of that number.
Furthermore Greater Manchester recorded the second highest rate of “possession of weapons” offences in the country, with West Midlands in the top spot. It should be noted however that a minority of “possession of weapons” offences include corrosive products and crossbows but the majority concerns bladed weapons.
Across England and Wales, the total number of knife-related offences increased by 2% continuing the trend of knife crime incidents rising each year.
The line graph above shows there were over 55,000 recorded offences of knife crime in England and Wales in the year ending March 2020. This dropped by 19% by March 2021 – presumably due to lockdowns in the pandemic – but it has been steadily increasing since.
However, the line graph suggests that the trend is slowing down. In the year ending March 2022, the number of offences had risen by 10%, then a further 9% in 2023.
Hospital admissions for assault with knives or sharp instruments have decreased across all age groups in England in the last year.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed the rise in offences, particularly possession of weapon offences, is partly due to an increase in stop-and-search by police to tackle knife crime as part of Operation Sycamore.
As part of the operation, there are 13 permanent knife amnesty bins across the region where those surrendering knives are not required to give personal details and will not be prosecuted.
Mother Kelly Brown, 49, founded Mero’s World after her son Rhamero West, 16, was stabbed to death in Old Trafford in September 2021.
“Two months after Mero was stabbed and killed, I was thinking to myself that there’s no way I want another parent to go through my pain and grief.”
Mero’s World was set up in 2022 when the charity installed the first bleed control cabinet in Fallowfield. They have since installed 55 bleed control cabinets across Greater Manchester and have set up a youth hub in Fallowfield.
The charity also visits schools, colleges and community centres to give talks about the dangers of carrying knives but Kelly wants to start talking to primary school aged children about the issue.
“The biggest hurdle for me, especially in Manchester, is getting into primary schools as I feel like primary schools are the vital age to speak to our younger generation about the consequences of carrying a knife and what can happen. I feel like once they hit high school, it’s too late. They’ve made up their mind.
“I think the government probably needs to start bringing back youth clubs. I think that was the biggest problem. The children today have no place to go so they’re hanging on street corners.
“Children now are carrying knives from the age of ten I’ve heard. It’s just not normal.”
Greater Manchester Police found that between September 2023 and August 2024, 44 in every 100,000 under 25s in Greater Manchester experienced a knife enabled violence with injury offence.
Kelly added: “It’s a pandemic. We’ve got a pandemic and it’s not just in Manchester, it’s across the UK.
“I feel like nothing’s going to get done until the government puts stricter measures into place. I know they’ve banned zombie knives but there’s so many other knives out there that need to either be round edges or just taken away entirely through legislation.
“I’ve worked alongside the Violence Reduction Unit. I’ve done a knife crime campaign video with them and they support me a lot with the youth hub [in Fallowfield] so they are a massive help in Manchester moving forward to tackle violent crime.”
With Knife Crime Awareness Week between 19th and 25th May, Kelly shared some advice: “If you’re that person who knows anyone who carries a knife, just speak to a trusted adult. Speak out. You’re doing the right thing. […] Let’s get these knives off our streets.”
Featured Image: JOHN K THORNE, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
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