A thug has clocked up nine separate knife crimes without ever serving time in jail.
The criminal is one of 15 offenders with at least four blade convictions who have dodged prison every time. Their cases show how hardcore villains are repeatedly walking free despite Tory pledges to crack down on the blight of knife crime. Ministry of Justice (MoJ) statistics show the offender with nine convictions was handed a community sentence during their most recent court appearance. That typically means doing unpaid voluntary work like painting benches or clearing rubbish.
When they were convicted of knife offences on the previous eight occasions they were given a suspended sentence once, fined once, given community service twice and handed four other non-custodial sentences. Another individual sentenced for their sixth knife crime was given a variety of non-custodial terms including fines.
The figures for 2022 – the most recent year available – show that in total, 11 people got a fourth knife conviction, one got a fifth, two a sixth and one a ninth. None have ever been jailed for their crimes. In their 2019 manifesto, the Tories pledged to make tackling blade offences a priority, declaring: “Those who use a knife as a weapon should go to prison.” Since then, the number of fatal cases involving children has continued to horrify the nation.
In March, a boy of 17 admitted stabbing 15-year-old Elianne Andam on her way to school in Croydon, South London, last September. And in February, Bristol mayor Marvin Rees called knife crime “a disaster for the city” after three teens were stabbed to death in three weeks. The Ben Kinsella Trust, set up after the 17-year-old’s fatal stabbing in Islington, North London, in 2008, told how the current system is too lenient.
Chief executive Patrick Green said: “The news that a repeat knife offender has escaped jail time for their ninth offence is concerning. This case exposes a critical gap between Government rhetoric and the reality on our streets. This system seems neither punitive nor rehabilitative. It fails to deter crime and creates a dangerous environment where carrying a weapon feels like a consequence-free option.”
The Government said: “While sentencing is for independent judges, our latest figures show more knife-carrying criminals are being sent to jail and for longer than a decade ago. Our tough new laws will also see more repeat knife offenders face time behind bars.”