Over 700 Reports of Knife Crime in Sutton

More than 700 reports of knife crime have been reported to the police in Sutton in five years.

A total of 740 knife or sharp instrument-related offences were recorded by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) between 2015 and 2019, including 371 armed robberies.

In the past five years, the most offences were in 2017 with 192 incidents, the lowest was in 2016 with 92. There were 143 last year, down from 168 in 2018.

During this time, there were also 361 reports of violence against the person, a term which ranges from homicide to stalking and harassment.

The Metropolitan Police includes ‘sharp instruments’ such as a screwdriver or scissors in knife crime statistics.

It has been revealed that the NHS does not measure knife wounds but a total of 211 admissions into St Helier Hospital for sharp object injuries were recorded between January 2015 and 2019.

The findings were made by media literacy charity The Student View following submission of a Freedom of Information request. 

The Metropolitan Police has been contacted for comment but refused.