Nearly a third of knife crime across England and Wales occurs in the capital, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.
Some 16,789 offences involving a bladed weapon were recorded by the Metropolitan Police last year – equating to approximately 46 offences a day.
Across all of England and Wales, 54,587 incidents were recorded – up 2% from 53,413 in 2023. It was 1% below the pre-pandemic figure of 55,170 in the year to March 2020.
Majority of knife crime offences took place in metropolitan areas, with the Met Police recording 31%, West Midlands Police recording 9% & Greater Manchester recording 6%.
The number of offences involving possession of an article with a blade or point was 28,150, up one per cent from 27,892 and higher than the pre-pandemic figure of 23,264 in 2019/20.
There were 216 knife-enabled homicides, down 16 per cent from 258 in 2023.
Billy Gazard of the ONS said: “While police-recorded offences involving knives and sharp instruments have increased, there has been a marked decrease in firearms offences.
“However, shoplifting offences continue to rise, reaching half a million offences in the year ending December 2024, the highest on record.”
The data also showed that the number of homicides recorded by police in England and Wales fell to its lowest level in a decade.
Some 535 offences were recorded in 2024, down five per cent from 563 in 2023 and the lowest figure since 533 in the 12 months to March 2014.
Overall, police recorded over 6.64 million crimes in England and Wales in 2024, down by one per cent from 6.68 million in 2023.
Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said: “This Labour Government will not tolerate the criminality blighting our communities.
“That’s why we’re putting almost 3,000 more bobbies on the beat in neighbourhood roles this year, and under our leadership, these crimes will receive the attention they deserve.
“We are already starting to reverse the Tories’ decade of decline on charge rates.”
She added: “Today’s figures are yet more evidence of the damage done by destroying neighbourhood policing as the Tories did over 14 years.”
