Knife crime has risen by 16% in the Northumbria Police area, new figures show.
The Police and Crime Commissioner’s (PCC) report has found incidents of “knife enabled serious violence” have jumped from 1,012 cases logged in the 12 months to May 2025 to 1,179. The 16% year-on-year increase has been attributed to the increase in robbery and assault with “intent to cause serious harm offences”.
Robbery figures surge
Robbery stats have also increased by 88%, from 1,239 cases to 2,325, between May 2025 and 2026. This is largely attributed to a change in April 2025, in which shoplifting with an element of violence is now classified as business robbery.
The report has, however, also recorded a drop in homicides and a fall in hospital admissions of the under-25s for assault with sharp objects. Murders have fallen from 16 to 10, with hospital admissions down from 25 to 20 from January 2025 to 2026.
Definition and prevention efforts
The figures for knife-enabled violence also include incidents where simply the threat of a knife is mentioned. At today’s Northumbria Police and Crime Panel at Gateshead civic centre, Northumbria PCC Susan Dungworth explained: “It is where people either use a knife or a sharp-bladed object to cause an offence or say they have got one on them.”
The PCC’s annual update also states that over 300 participants, including youth workers and community leaders, have completed the commissioned Violence Prevention Ambassadors Programme. The programme helps educate people on the causes and effects of knife crime as well as strategies for prevention. The course also gives an overview of gangs and youth violence, helping people understand what gangs are, what they do, and the role of women and girls.
