Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for the possession of an article with a blade or point( 1) , England and Wales, 1997 to 2007, broken down by police force area( 2, 3)
Force
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Avon and Somerset
61
94
135
101
147
190
187
167
155
214
200
Bedfordshire
29
46
33
51
39
46
73
96
99
74
81
Cambridgeshire
33
43
35
19
34
56
43
75
72
83
65
Cheshire
68
73
65
64
47
64
60
57
87
101
121
City of London
30
13
10
14
12
20
25
28
21
16
10
Cleveland
30
42
38
24
53
103
107
103
85
90
109
Cumbria
36
44
47
36
36
42
56
56
59
50
51
Derbyshire
57
37
41
45
61
92
109
123
100
94
123
Devon and Cornwall
72
107
99
105
90
145
161
161
167
138
171
Dorset
23
47
37
45
48
73
63
75
76
81
78
Durham
27
34
41
55
41
87
70
80
101
96
107
Essex
101
116
137
136
136
141
222
264
273
217
182
Gloucestershire
23
43
24
21
35
39
41
46
47
48
48
Greater Manchester
250
276
240
260
344
357
362
383
391
441
436
Hampshire
132
130
113
132
142
141
169
221
182
194
198
Hertfordshire
36
37
31
29
31
59
103
103
127
105
78
Humberside
60
64
80
65
61
81
79
121
123
135
170
Kent
41
80
106
98
92
45
40
10
9
3
2
Lancashire
136
165
122
109
131
127
159
188
182
169
176
Leicestershire
63
88
74
65
83
96
107
110
105
140
135
Lincolnshire
27
57
70
51
58
66
89
74
71
85
54
Merseyside
234
204
148
166
155
192
208
245
240
253
250
Metropolitan Police
1,705
1,721
1,454
1,572
2,128
2,459
2,179
2,104
2,113
2,099
1,810
Norfolk
31
54
52
38
59
91
82
88
91
80
96
North Yorkshire
47
39
52
54
64
65
63
89
80
70
62
Northamptonshire
15
13
22
11
6
2
2
2
6
1
3
Northumbria
134
125
151
161
193
226
243
232
241
246
318
Nottinghamshire
55
67
59
59
75
90
123
144
151
176
184
South Yorkshire
68
72
87
91
148
201
209
163
197
169
179
Staffordshire(4)
36
57
52
(4)0
45
94
78
91
76
111
108
Suffolk
37
24
32
34
36
74
72
79
84
123
97
Surrey
21
19
23
34
41
31
45
50
38
47
65
Sussex
90
82
112
110
136
153
154
135
139
165
165
Thames Valley
91
107
103
82
101
127
116
159
192
227
165
Warwickshire
24
33
31
19
21
29
21
32
30
38
32
West Mercia
32
51
37
46
52
54
67
104
112
124
117
West Midlands
244
227
197
280
417
450
449
465
386
469
485
West Yorkshire
53
65
85
82
116
157
139
201
214
214
227
Wiltshire
26
38
38
32
47
46
49
63
66
82
53
Dyfed-Powys
27
32
38
40
48
53
47
51
54
39
51
Gwent
35
25
25
28
25
36
35
61
45
74
77
North Wales
56
67
64
51
63
96
70
78
85
131
101
South Wales
93
130
126
110
126
167
152
175
147
187
164
England and Wales
4,489
4,888
4,566
4,625
5,823
6,963
6,928
7,352
7,319
7,699
7,404
(1) Includes the following offences and statutes:
Having an article with blade or point in public place. (Criminal Justice Act 1988 S.139 as amended by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 S.3).
Having an article with blade or point on school premises. (Criminal Justice Act 1988 S.139A (1)(5)(a) as added by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 S.4(1)). (2) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. Source:
Evidence and Analysis Unit, Office for Criminal Justice Reform.
