Almost half of fatal attacks in England and Wales involved a knife or blade, figures show, as the proportion of killings linked to sharp weapons soars to an 11-year high.
Of 570 homicides recorded in the year ending March 2024, 262 people were killed using a knife or other sharp instrument, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics.
This equates to 46 per cent of killings, the highest proportion for 11 years, up from 42 per cent the previous year and just 31 per cent in the year ending March 2017.
The most commonly used sharp instrument was a kitchen knife, which was used in 109 fatal attacks, up eight per cent on the previous year.
The figures come after home secretary Yvette Cooper revealed she is considering calls from actor and campaigner Idris Elba to ban kitchen knives with a sharp point in a bid to halve knife crime in a decade. Instead, knives would have a rounded end.
Hackney-born Mr Elba, who has met with prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and the King in his efforts to tackle knife crime, suggested making changes to kitchen knives could be one way to reduce stabbings.
“Not all kitchen knives need to have a point on them, that sounds like a crazy thing to say,” he 52-year-old Luther star told BBC Radio 4. “But you can still cut your food without the point on your knife, which is an innovative way to look at it.”
In response, Ms Cooper said: “We will look at any issue that might make children safer.”
“This is an issue that Idris has raised,” she told The Times Crime and Justice Commission this week. “It's also an issue [raised by] surgeons who have dealt with knife crime. Victims have also raised this as well in the past. So that's why we are looking at it.”
Labour has pledged to halve knife crime in a decade amid fears knife attacks are on the rise, with recent tragedies including the stabbing of 15-year-old Harvey Willgoose at a school in Sheffield this week.
Although knife crime increased by 4.4 per cent in the year to March 2024, with 50,500 offences linked to a blade recorded, they have not exceeded pre-pandemic highs and remain 2.8 per cent lower than in the year ending March 2020.
The ONS statistics published on Thursday also showed teenagers are much more likely to be killed by a knife or sharp instrument than other age groups.
There were 64 homicides where the victim was aged 13 to 19 years. In eight in ten of these, the method of killing was with a knife or sharp instrument compared to the average of 46 per cent across all age groups.
Overall, homicides were down three per cent in year to March 2024, with 570 killings down from 585 the previous year.
The number of male victims was similar to the previous year, with 414 killed, while the numbers of women killed fell by 10 per cent from 173 to 156.
The family of schoolgirl Elianne Andam last month vowed to fight to end violence and knife crime, especially against young women, as her killer was found guilty of murder.
Hassan Sentamu, then 17, stabbed 15-year-old Elianne with a kitchen knife in an "explosive rage of savage violence" following a row over a teddy bear outside a Croydon shopping centre in September 2023.
Her parents Dorcas and Michael Andam said her death had left a void in their lives that can never be filled, adding: “The verdict today is the first step toward justice for Elianne, but also a message that violence and knife crime, especially toward young women, will not go unanswered.
"As we begin the long process of healing, we reflect on this verdict not as an end but as a step toward change. We will continue to fight against the violence that took Elianne from us, sharing her story and working toward a world where no family has to endure such heartbreak.”
