Knife offenders to face 'court not caution'

The Crown Prosecution Service has told its lawyers to take a "robust approach" and says carrying a knife must always be treated as a serious offence. It says it is acting in response to "mounting public concern" over knife crime and the "escalating number" of offences in the capital.

The move follows comments by Met Commissioner Sir Ian Blair. He said it was "totally unacceptable" that half of those caught carrying a knife in the past year were let off with a caution.

The CPS expects to bring more than 500 additional knife offenders to court this year as a result of the directive, drawn up after talks with the Met.

Applying only to adult cases, the directive says: "Knife crime is to be regarded as serious. It is a prevalent crime and triggers widespread public concern. Accordingly, it will only be in rare cases that the public interest does not require a prosecution."

It adds that more prosecutions will have a "significant positive impact on maintaining community confidence" and they are needed because "a culture of carrying weapons encourages violence and may lead to more serious criminal behaviour".

Official figures show that, in the year to April, there were 5,142 prosecutions for the offences of carrying an offensive weapon or a bladed article. This is predicted to rise by 11 per cent to 5,718 for the 12 months to April next year, but this is still fewer than the number of cases brought in 2004/05.

Dru Sharpling, chief crown prosecutor for London, said it was important to send a message that carrying blades would not be tolerated. "There has been understandable growing concern about knife crime in London. We share that concern in the CPS and cases will be charged and brought to court whenever we can."

Victims of knife crime include lawyer Tom ap Rhys Pryce, 31, who was stabbed to death by two muggers as he walked home in Kensal Green in January last year. His killers were jailed for life in November.

Met figures obtained by the Evening Standard under the Freedom of Information Act showed that in the 12 months to April, 1,613 offenders caught with an offensive weapon escaped with a caution. Another 368 were cautioned for carrying a bladed weapon.

Sir Ian has blamed the number of cautions on legal guidelines for prosecuting offenders, but the CPS disputes this and says cautioning decisions are usually taken by police.

The treatment of juvenile knife offenders is governed by legislation which requires prosecutors to consider the need to issue a warning or reprimand.