One in four South Yorkshire adults caught carrying blades have committed previous knife crimes

Anti-knife crime charity the Ben Kinsella Trust says too many offenders ‘simply reappear on our streets still carrying weapons’ after being convicted.

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The figures from the Ministry of Justice reveal there were 346 convictions and cautions for knife possession in the 12 months up to September in South Yorkshire.

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In 96 cases, or 28 per cent, the offenders had committed at least one previous offence of carrying a knife, while in 14 cases there were three or more past offences.

Immediate prison sentences were given in 61 of the repeat offences while 11 were dealt with by suspended jail sentences, nine by community orders and five by a caution.

For 10 of the offences the outcome was not specified in the data provided.

Across England and Wales, 12,458 convictions and cautions were given to adult offenders for knife possession in the 12 months up to September.

Out of those, around a third were repeat offenders.

Patrick Green, chief executive of the Ben Kinsella Trust, said: “I remain worried about the continuing high levels of repeat offending.

“All too often we see the criminal justice system having little or no effect on habitual knife carriers.

“Despite going before the courts and receiving a conviction, too many offenders simply reappear on our streets still carrying weapons.”

Five years ago, new legislation was introduced requiring judges to impose jail terms on adult knife offenders who had already committed a knife crime, unless it would ‘make it unjust to do so’.

Section 28 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act, otherwise known as the ‘two strikes and out’ system, applies to repeat adult knife offenders who have had a conviction.

Mr Green added: “These figures ask serious questions about the effectiveness of the Government’s two strikes policy and whether enough is being done to prevent and rehabilitate offenders.”

Nationally, in the 12 months to September, there were 17,914 sentences and cautions given to adults and children for knife offences, down 20 per cent from the same period last year.

In South Yorkshire the number fell by six per cent.

The figures include possessing a knife or other offensive weapon. They exclude offences such as murder and assault.

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