Knife crime up by 400 incidents in one year

There were 400 more crimes involving knives in Bristol in 2023/2024 than the previous year, data has revealed.

Knives were used in 1,953 offences between April 2023 and March 2024, compared to 1,553 in 2022/2023, an increase of 26%, an annual report of the Bristol Community Safety Partnership said.

Serious violence offences involving knives saw an even larger jump of 38%, with 585 crimes recorded last year, compared to 423 the year before.

Supt Mark Runacres, from Avon and Somerset Police, said in the report: "During the past 12 months the city has witnessed the tragic loss of young lives through knife crime, bringing understandable concern and focus on how agencies and communities are working together."

Despite the rise, there were relatively fewer violent crimes in Bristol than elsewhere in England, but the rate of violent crimes that caused injury per 1,000 population in Bristol was higher than in London, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The Bristol Community Safety Partnership (BCSP) coordinates work of Bristol City Council, Avon and Somerset Police and other public sector organisations.

Last year, Mason Rist, 15, and Max Dixon, 16, were stabbed to death with machetes on Ilminster Avenue in Knowle West on 27 January 2024, and Darrian Williams, 16, died after being stabbed in Rawnsley Park in Easton, on 14 February.

Supt Runacres, neighbourhood policing superintendent, said the impact of their deaths was "felt across the city and beyond".

"It takes time to grieve and find a way forward for families, individuals, communities and the city," he said.

"For those working in the BCSP it's a time for reflection, learning and improving.

"With the bereaved families at the heart of the response to these incidents, communities have come together and shown compassion and strength to support each other."

The report noted that the increase in offences with a knife in the period 2023/2024 coincides with "increased intensive police operations" resulting in more offences being logged.

The rate of violent crimes that caused injury per 1,000 population in Bristol was 10.7, less than Newcastle with 15.3, Birmingham and Nottingham with 13.7, Manchester with 13, Liverpool with 12.3, and Leeds with 11.1.

But the rate in Bristol was higher than London's 8.9.

Supt Runacres said that as well as "continually assessing and responding to emerging threats" the force remains focused on "long-term and preventative work".

"This can only be delivered through the collaboration of many teams and services... together with citizens and community and voluntary organisations trusted by their communities," he said.

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