Avon and Somerset police on patrol(Image: PAUL GILLIS / paulgillisphoto.com)

Bristol area knife crime country's fifth-highest over past five years

by · BristolLive

Bristol and surrounding areas saw one of the highest rates of knife crime in the country over the past five years. But Avon & Somerset Police have reported a 54 per cent reduction in street-based knife crime in the past six months.

The region reported the fifth-highest rate of serious knife crimes in England, at 9.46 incidents per 10,000 people over the last five years, according to an analysis of the national ONS data. Additionally, Avon & Somerset had the highest rate of rape and sexual assault offences involving a knife, with 0.44 incidents per 10,000 people.

Police recorded 271 street-based knife crime offences in the six-month period between November 2023 and April 2024. But in the following six-month period (May 2024-October 2024) the number of recorded offences reduced to 124.

In the past year there have been 14 knife-related murders, 10 of which occurred between November 2023-May 2024. In the aftermath of the murders in early 2024, Avon and Somerset Police Force launched Operation Hardy. This brought together officers and staff from CID, the Intelligence Department, and the Early Intervention Team, with the aim of reducing the knife crime epidemic.

Operation Hardy has seen a 78 per cent increase in arrests for a bladed article over the past six months, the identification of around 55 young people linked to or at risk of serious violence and the testing of compliance with knife sale laws at 80 retailers, resulting in action for violations in collaboration with Trading Standards.

(Top l-r) Darrian Williams, Mason Rist, Max Dixon (Bottom l-r) Mikey Roynon and Eddie King Muthemba Kinuthia. These are the faces of the young people in Bristol who have recently lost their lives to knife crime(Image: Family handouts)

The ONS data shows that Avon and Somerset saw a year-on-year increase (2022/2023 to 2023/2024) of over 32 per cent. There were 1,262 knife-related incidents in 2022-23 and 1,670 in 2023-24.

Knife surrender bins across the region have seen 7,000 knives and bladed articles recovered. In addition, the police have opened 70 investigations into knife-related incidents involving children and young people and 15 arrests have been made as a result of targeted stop-and-search operations.

While knife crime in England has decreased by 8.23 per cent over the past five years, Avon & Somerset is among the regions which have seen significant increases.

Avon and Somerset recorded a 25.56% increase in knife crime in the last five years, placing it the third-highest region on the list, after the City of London and Northumbria. Knife-related incidents rose from 1,330 in 2019/2020 to 1,670 between July 2022 and June 2024.

This is what a knife surrender bin looks like, though some are also black in colour(Image: Avon and Somerset Police)

Chief Inspector Mike Vass said: “Our approach to tackling serious violence also extends beyond enforcement to address root causes. This includes identifying children most at risk, pinpointing high-harm individuals and locations, and working collaboratively with partners to develop long-term, preventative strategies.

“Looking ahead, we remain committed to reducing serious violence in our communities, working hand-in-hand with local partners to build safer futures for children and young people across Avon and Somerset. The 54% reduction in knife-related crime in the last six months alone hopefully provides reassurance to the public that we do take this matter seriously.”

Nearly 50,000 serious knife crimes were recorded in England from July 2023 to June 2024. London has the highest rate of serious knife crimes, at 17.89 offences per 10,000 people.

You can find more information on the regional breakdowns of knife crime in England on the Get Licensed website.