Knife offenders face crackdown

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Offenders will now have to do at least 18 hours of community work a week and will be subject to curfews, said Justice Minster David Hanson.

The announcement came after legislation to force offenders to wear high-visibility orange jackets was revealed.

The tougher, more intensive, punishments will be available to the courts from January 5.

Mr Hanson said: "We want to ensure knife crime offenders are treated with the seriousness they deserve.

"Where jail is the best option, I'll always make sure there are enough prison places and more people are now going to prison for knife related crime

"But the Government also wants to see tougher and more effective community-based sentences for those the courts choose not to send to jail.

"They will now have to do at least 18 hours of work a week, and potentially be subject to a curfew that keeps them off the streets in the evening and a probation appointment during the week on top of these hours.

"This means a significant loss of liberty and free time for all those unemployed knife offenders across the whole of England and Wales."

In its attempts to tackle knife crime, the Government has already doubled the maximum sentence for possessing an illegal knife to four years, increased the use of "stop and search" tactics and raised the age at which you can be sold a knife to 18.