Increase sentences relating to knife crime

Revise the law relating to knife crime and carrying knives. At current the punishment for carrying a knife as a first time offender carries no minimum sentence and a one year maximum sentence. In order to counter act the rise of knife crime the law needs to be looked at and changed.

I want the UK Government to make carrying a knife and knife crime possess a harsher sentence to deter at risk youths from putting their own and other lives at risk. I believe a minimum of at least 36 months should be given to anyone caught carrying a knife as a first time offender and 7 years for anyone with previous convictions. In addition to this, where someone is stabbed and they survive, the offender should be jailed for a minimum of 14 years after attempting to take someone’s life.

The government’s top priority is to keep people safe. We understand the devastating impact knife crime has on victims and their families, and are determined to put a stop to violent offences that involve knives. It is essential that offenders serve sentences that reflect the severity of their crimes – helping to protect the public and giving victims confidence that justice has been served.

Parliament has provided courts with the powers they need to effectively deal with the range of offences and offenders which come before them. Where someone is actually harmed by a knife or offensive weapon, there are a range of offences that the person may be charged with, such as causing grievous bodily harm. These can result in lengthy sentences, including life imprisonment. For offenders aged 18 and over who bring a knife or another weapon to the scene of a murder with the intention of using it, courts will consider a minimum term spent in custody of at least 25 years.

An individual convicted in the last 3 years of threatening with or possessing a knife or offensive weapon was more likely to receive a custodial sentence, and to receive a longer custodial sentence, than at any point in the last decade.

For being in possession of a knife or offensive weapon, the maximum penalty is 4 years’ imprisonment. Over half (57%) of offenders cautioned or convicted of this offence for the first time received a custodial sentence in 2019 in comparison to a third (34%) ten years earlier. In 2015, we introduced minimum custodial sentences for repeat knife possession and offences that involve threatening with a weapon. Adults face a minimum of 6 months’ imprisonment whilst young people aged 16 or 17 face a minimum 4-month Detention and Training Order. Since the introduction of the minimum custodial term people caught carrying a knife or offensive weapon for a second time are now more likely than ever before to receive a custodial sentence – in 2019, 86% of offenders received a custodial sentence for repeat possession offences.