Stabbings set new record in UK

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that more than 55,000 knife attacks were recorded across England and Wales in the year to September 2024, the second time the figures have topped 55,000 since 2011.
The number of knife attacks has hit a new record in seven boroughs, including Greater London. The Metropolitan Police, the UK’s largest police force, reported 16,521 knife attacks, an 18% increase on the previous year. This is higher than the previous record of 14,025 in 2019.
In addition to London, areas such as Devon and Cornwall, Gwent, Lancashire, Sussex and Evan and Somerset have also seen the highest increases in stabbings. It is noteworthy that, contrary to popular belief, the rate of knife crime in rural and suburban areas is growing faster than in large cities.
Experts and security agencies link the dramatic increase in knife crime to the spread of drug gangs known as “County Lines”. These gangs, which have infiltrated large cities into peripheral and rural areas, have waged street wars using children and teenagers as “drug couriers” to capture new markets.
According to published data, drug gangs use children as young as 7 to transport and distribute drugs. These children often carry knives in self-defense or under pressure from gang members. This has led to an increase in violent clashes and street murders.
Steven Kleiman, the head of the National Council of Chief Police Officers on knife crime, warned in response to the figures that “this crisis will not be solved easily or in the short term”.
He stressed: “There is no quick fix to this problem. There are many factors contributing to the increase in this type of crime and this requires long-term cooperation between the police, social institutions, education and local services. It could take a generation to curb this crisis.”
Meanwhile, the UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced that the government intends to impose further restrictions on the sale of knives to children and teenagers. Among the most important measures proposed to tackle the knife crisis in the UK are the requirement of two-factor authentication for online knife purchases, a ban on direct sales of knives to the doorstep without providing identification, and stricter laws on carrying knives in public places.
However, critics say the measures will not make a significant difference, as the knives used in most street crimes are kitchen knives and everyday tools found in every home.
Crime increases in the UK
The rise in knife attacks is just one part of a wider security crisis in the UK. Shoplifting has also reached an all-time high, with more than 492,000 reported last year, a 23% increase on the previous year, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Attacks on emergency services and police have also risen by 14% to 4,476. Sexual offences, including assault and rape, are also at their highest level ever recorded in the UK, with 199,445 reported.
Successive governments in the UK have repeatedly promised to tackle the knife crime and insecurity crisis in recent years, but statistics show that not only has there been no progress in reducing these crimes, but the situation has actually worsened compared to the past.
With increasing poverty, social unrest, cuts to welfare services and the spread of criminal gangs, experts predict that the situation of violent crime in the UK will worsen in the coming years unless fundamental reforms are implemented in the country's social and security policies.