Avon & Somerset Police recorded the biggest increase in knife crime offences in the country

Knife crime offences recorded by police forces in England and Wales have risen in recent years, but remain below levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic.

The PA news agency has looked at the latest available figures on knife crime.

Some 50,973 offences were recorded by forces in England and Wales in the 12 months to June 2024.

This is up 4% from 49,187 offences in the previous 12 months, but is 2% lower than the 51,982 offences in the year to March 2020.

These figures do not include Greater Manchester Police, due to issues involving the processing of data.

There has been a "notable increase" in the number of robberies involving a knife or sharp instrument, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which compiled the figures.

These jumped from 19,607 in the year to June 2023 to 21,759 in the year to June 2024, a rise of 11%, though the total is still lower than before the pandemic, with 22,727 recorded in 2019/20.

Knife-enabled homicides stood at 225 in the 12 months to June 2024, down 5% from 237 in the previous year and lower than pre-pandemic figures (253 in 2019/20).

The number of offences classed as knife-enabled threats to kill have also fallen, down 6% from 5,736 in the year to June 2023 to 5,413 in the year to June 2024.

Both of these totals are higher than those recorded before the pandemic (4,746 in 2019/20).

Of the 50,973 knife crime offences in England and Wales in the year to June 2024, 31% (15,802) were recorded by the Metropolitan Police, 10% (5,122) by West Midlands Police and 5% (2,334) by West Yorkshire Police.

The largest percentage increases were recorded by Avon & Somerset (up 31.8%), British Transport Police (up 30.6%), Bedfordshire (up 21.5%) and Sussex (up 16.8%).