Reduction in knife-related robberies in UK's high-risk areas
A dedicated police taskforce was set up in October last year focused on seven forces – Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Avon and Sommerset and British Transport Police.
These areas had seen a steep rise in incidents between July 2023 and June 2024, accounting for 70% of knife-enabled robbery at the time.
Drones, knife arches and detection dogs are among the tactics being used in an attempt to bring down the number of incidents, with the forces also increasing visible patrols and the number of plain clothes officers on the streets.
The West Midlands saw the largest drop, with a 25% reduction in incidents in the past year. Meanwhile, Greater Manchester saw a 4% increase in incidents in comparison to last year.
Ms Cooper said: 'Since day one, we have acted with urgency to turn the tide on knife crime, which destroys lives and devastates communities.
'When we came to office, knife-enabled robbery was increasing at a concerning rate, but we have now started to drive numbers of those offences down through the work of our dedicated taskforces, and as a result, we have also seen the first small reduction in overall knife crime for four years.
'The drop in knife-enabled robbery in key problem areas shows the impact that our strong new action on knife crime is having, but we now need to supercharge these efforts through more smart and targeted interventions.
'Anyone can be a victim of knife crime, but new 'hex mapping' technology shows that the vast majority of knife crime is concentrated in a relatively small, hyper-concentrated number of areas.
'As part of the plan for change, we will use that new technology to support our mission to halve knife crime over the next decade. In the 2020s, the way to be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime is also to be smart on crime, using the latest technology to target criminals and problem areas, and keep the country safe.'
A ban on ninja swords also comes into force on Friday, as part of the Government's commitment to halve knife crime in the next decade.
At least a thousand of the weapons have been handed in as part of a surrender scheme.
The Government has also pledged to tackle the sale of weapons online, as part of Ronan's Law, which was introduced following the death of 16-year-old Ronan Kanda, who was murdered with a ninja sword bought online.
This would require retailers to report bulk or suspicious knife orders to the police, put in place more stringent age-verification checks and impose significant fines on tech executives whose platforms fail to prevent illegal sales.
Mother of Ronan, Pooja Kanda, said: 'Ronan was just 16 years old when his life was stolen by a 22-inch ninja sword that should never have been so easy to buy. Ronan's Law is not only a step towards justice for my son, but for every parent who wants to see their child come home safely.
'This law is about saving lives, closing dangerous loopholes, and holding those responsible to account.
'The Government's knife surrender scheme has been a sign of commitment to tackling the scourge of knife crime. While there is still much more to do, these are significant steps in the right direction.'
The Home Office has also said a 'surrender van' will be deployed at this year's Notting Hill Carnival.
Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said knife crime was 'spiralling out of control' and accused Labour of not wanting to talk about London and the 'utter failure of Sadiq Khan to tackle crime'.
He said: 'Under Labour's Mayor, the capital has become Britain's knife crime capital, accounting for over 32% of all knife crime and over 45% of knife-point robberies in England. Stop and search has collapsed, yet Sadiq Khan spends more time pontificating than trying to make London safe.
'Labour are weak on crime, soft on criminals, and too scared to confront the reality on our streets. It's time for the Labour Government and Labour Mayor to wake up and get a grip, or get out of the way.'
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