Over 21,000 knife and offensive weapon crimes were registered by UK’s Criminal Justice System (CJS) in England and Wales in late 2018, the highest number recorded since 2009, the UK Ministry of Justice said in a report on Thursday.

The report is based on the statistical trends of cautioning and sentencing from October to December 2018.

“In 2018, 21,484 knife and offensive weapon offenses were formally dealt with by the CJS. This is the highest number of offenses dealt with since 2009 (25,103),” the report said.

In addition, the ministry noted that for 72 percent of the offenders, this was their first knife or offensive weapon possession offense. Also, offenders were now more likely to receive an immediate sentence for a knife and offensive weapon offense, compared to 10 years ago, the ministry said.

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