London's knife crime “disease” has helped to propel the number of blade offences nationwide to an all-time high, official figures revealed today.
The Office for National Statistics said that 14,725 knife crimes, including 74 homicides, were committed in the capital during 2018 after a one per cent rise in offending over the year.
The total is one of the highest on record for London and only a fraction below the peak of 14,987 recorded in comparable annual statistics published six months ago.
The bleak figures suggest that the Met’s intensive efforts to combat the problem are having only limited impact. Statistics for England and Wales showed knife offending at the highest level ever recorded, with more than 40,000 such offences in 2018.
It means London accounts for a third of all knife crime and has played a key role in taking the national total to its new peak.