Police blitz sees fewer teenagers caught with knives
8:33am Thursday 11th December 2008 in News
More than 2,200 knives were seized during the Tackling Knives Action Programme's stop and search operations
The number of teenagers caught carrying knives has fallen sharply during a targeted police blitz, government figures have shown.
Officers from 10 forces in England have searched 105,000 young people since the launch of the £2 million Home Office campaign in June, the BBC said.
Instances of knife carrying fell by more than half. In June, one person in 30 was caught carrying a knife but by October, it was one in 65.
The number of serious injuries and deaths in the period also fell 17%.
In the UK this year, 34 teenagers have died from stab wounds, with 23 of those in London.
More than 2,200 knives were seized during the Tackling Knives Action Programme's stop and search operations, the BBC reported.
The 10 areas involved in the government blitz account for 70% of knife violence are: London, Essex, Lancashire, West Yorkshire, Merseyside, the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Nottinghamshire, south Wales and Thames Valley.
The results of the initiative come a month after the chairman of the Government's home affairs committee said Britain's fight to beat knife crime was "clearly not working".
Keith Vaz said knife crime was "clearly not being dealt with at the moment with the legitimate, appropriate political solutions".
© Press Association 2008
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