Possession of weapons has risen by a third under this government - Burstow

4.11.02pm UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 1st Sep 2006

Research undertaken by Paul Burstow, MP for Sutton and Cheam reveals that convictions for the possession of offensive weapon or possession of an article with a blade have increased steadily under the current government.

The information, which was received by Mr Burstow in response to a parliamentary question, reveals total convictions for the two offences rose between 2003 and 04 (the last year for which figures are available). Convictions for possession of an offensive weapon rose slightly, while convictions for having a blade in a public place fell slightly.

However, the pattern over the 7 years since the Labour government came to power reveal a much more worrying trend towards increased knife and weapon-related crime.

In London, there were 1581 convictions for possession of offensive weapons in 2004, compared with 1160 in 1997, a rise of 36% in 7 years. There were 1914 convictions for having a blade in a public place in 2004, compared with 1464 in 1997, a rise of 31%.

Overall, convictions in London accounted for nearly 30% of offences committed in England in 2004*.

Commenting on the findings, Paul Burstow said:

"The relatively insignificant rise in the number of convictions for carrying a weapon or blade between 2003 and 2004 belie the overall trend."

"There has been a massive increase in the number of offences since this government came to power: it is clear that more must be done to take weapons off the streets of our capital."