More Nottinghamshire children went to prison for knife crime last year

With fewer children in custody, anti-knife crime charity the Ben Kinsella Trust said the fall is encouraging, but warned against the high percentage of repeat offenders avoiding custody.

Ministry of Justice figures show 107 knife offences were committed by children aged 10-17 in the Nottinghamshire Police area last year, up from 87 in 2020.

Of them, 103 were for possessing a knife in a public place and four were for threatening behaviour.

The offences led to 10 under-18s, 11.5 per cent, being placed in immediate custody – up on three in 2020, but down on 20 in 2019, before the pandemic.

Across England and Wales, 179 children aged 10-17 were sent to immediate custody last year, meaning 5.8 per cent of offences committed led to a young person being removed from the streets.

This was down on the 288, 8 per cent, remanded in custody in 2020 and dramatically below pre-pandemic levels – 533, 11.5 per cent, were sent to prison in 2019.

In 2021, 3,519 knife offences were committed by under-18s, down from 3,602 the year prior and well below pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, there were 4,618 offences.

Patrick Green, trust chief executive, said it is good to see knife offences falling, but expressed caution, given the decrease in all crime during the pandemic due to successive lockdowns.

In Nottinghamshire, 22, 20.6 per cent, of the 107 knife offences in Nottinghamshire were committed by children who have had at least one previous offence – 16 avoided immediate custody.

The other 85 were committed by first-time offenders.

Across England and Wales, just 103 of 549 offences committed by children who had a previous conviction led to a child in custody.

Mr Green said: “Many victims will be horrified to see habitual knife carriers are more likely to be returned to the streets than end up in prison.

“We cannot expect to make meaningful headway in tackling knife crime until the justice system takes stronger action to put serial offenders behind bars.”

A Government spokesman said: "Those caught carrying a knife are more likely to be sent to jail, and for longer, than they were a decade ago.”