Concern at knife crime sentences

The jail terms for knife offences ranged between two and four months

Fewer than one in five people charged with knife offences are sent to prison, Metropolitan (Met) Police figures show.

Staff monitored 103 individuals charged with such offences in one week in June during an anti-knife crime operation.

Of 24 youths who had been dealt with in court by 28 July, just one was jailed. Of the 29 adults sentenced by the same date, eight received jail terms.

Met chief Sir Ian Blair said the courts were not taking "sufficient account of community concern" about the issue.

The figures, collated during Operation Blunt, showed 17%, or fewer than one in five, offenders were jailed.

Likely sentence

Sir Ian said the jail terms for knife offences ranged from two to four months, while others were given suspended sentences, referrals and community orders.

He said: "I am not satisfied at the moment with the figures I have got that the courts are yet taking sufficient account of community concern around knife crime.

"I want to make clear that I am not saying everybody should be locked up who has a knife because the numbers are inconceivable.

"But I do think that we are starting from that position that it is a likely sentence and individual cases will be dealt with individually by the court."

Sir Ian said it was likely that the most serious cases from the week in mid-June had yet to be dealt with.

The commissioner said he would be raising the matter with the London Criminal Justice Board.