[bitontheslide]

Knife possession offences involving women in England have increased steeply since 2014 - rising by at least 10% every year, police figures show.

Some 1,509 offences were recorded in 2018 - an increase of 73% over the last five years - data obtained following freedom of information requests shows.

Youth workers say some women carry weapons for gangs as they are less likely to be stopped by police.

The Home Office said it funds schemes to help gang-affected women and girls.

Figures for England show that between 2014 and 2018 there were more than 5,800 recorded knife possession crimes involving women.

The BBC contacted the four police forces in Wales but the figures are incomplete. Police Scotland and Police Northern Ireland figures were unavailable.

It comes against a backdrop of rising knife crime nationally and after the number of fatal stabbings in England and Wales was last year the highest number since records began.

Data from 38 forces out of 39 in England shows almost a quarter of recorded offences involved girls under the age of 18 - with the youngest aged seven.

While London's Metropolitan Police saw the highest number of possession cases involving women, parts of northern England have seen female knife possession crimes increase at a faster rate.

London's Metropolitan Police recorded a 52% increase over five years, with a total of 916 recorded offences from 2014 to 2018.

During the same time, Merseyside Police saw a 54% rise, to 499 offences, while the number of offences in Greater Manchester doubled, with 95 recorded offences last year.

In South Yorkshire there was an 82% rise over five years - with 248 offences involving women.

Theresa John regularly carried a knife for 12 years. She said it "became part of my identity" on the streets in Essex.

"I used to name my knives. When I was 16 I had one that was like a flick Stanley blade and I used to call it Uncle Stan.

After a chaotic and difficult childhood, Theresa's life spiralled out of control. In her early 20s she became addicted to heroin and crack cocaine and worked as a prostitute to fund her addiction.

"I'd either have a knife or a pair of scissors because when I was out working on the streets. There would be different guys who would force you to do stuff.

"I stayed in this lifestyle of crime and madness and just brokenness. I was in a very abusive relationship to the point that my kids were taken into the care and at that point I just lost all hope.

"I started taking heroin, I was out on the streets working in prostitution. I used to get in a lot of fights - there was a lot of violence."

One night, the scissors were used as a weapon on her and a man stabbed her in the back of the head.

And in 2012, Theresa stabbed her next door neighbour and was sentenced to 10 months in prison for actual bodily harm and possession of a knife.

Now 35 years old, she says: "It was like this mist came over me and I charged at her with the knife, and just stabbed her straight in the top of her head."

Jennifer Blake is a former gang leader from Peckham, in south London, who now works as a community support worker and independent gangs consultant.

"For some women it's a normal thing to have in your bag, like lipstick," she says.

"We have got girls that stab, but it's just like the elephant in the room. No-one wants to talk about it because no one knows how to deal with it.

"Everywhere you go you have problems with girls and their identity, their self-worth and those are the vulnerable ones that boys end up picking up."

She says some girls and women from broken homes see street gangs as their family and will do anything to fit it.

"Knife, guns, drugs - they are the couriers for it. They're not going to get stopped by police, and the men know that."

The Home Office said it was investing £220m into steering both young men and young women away from violent crime.

For female offenders specifically, it supports and funds young people's advocates who work with gang-affected young women and girls in London, Manchester and the West Midlands.

A spokesman added: "We recently announced plans to recruit 20,000 more police officers and empower them to use fair and intelligence-led stop and search, to prevent more young people falling victim to knife crime."

Earlier this year South Yorkshire Police was one of seven forces to receive extra Home Office funding to tackle violent crime.

The force's assistant chief constable, Tim Forber, said while knife crime is still predominately a male problem, it is increasingly about "vulnerability" rather than gender.

"It's a very small proportion [of women] but it's a worrying proportion - we don't want to see any young people, any women carrying knives in society.

"I don't think it's any more nuanced, than it is for men, it's about vulnerable young people getting drawn into the fringes of organised crime.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49264665

[Nicky91]

"For some women it's a normal thing to have in your bag, like lipstick," she says.

how can you compare a knife to lipstick

[Kazanne]

Well I never even thought of women carrying knives,but I guess its no different than guys,but still seems more shocking somehow.

[Nicky91]

Originally Posted by Kazanne

Well I never even thought of women carrying knives,but I guess its no different than guys,but still seems more shocking somehow.

somehow i can understand these women if they want to carry a form of protection with them, with all the sexual abuse out there

and i agree this is no different than guys, who also might have guns, knives, or quite often right now in my country hand grenades

[Kazanne]

Originally Posted by Nicky91

somehow i can understand these women if they want to carry a form of protection with them, with all the sexual abuse out there

and i agree this is no different than guys, who also might have guns, knives, or quite often right now in my country hand grenades

Well I could understand if it was pepper spray or something similar,just a bit surprised its knives.Hand grenades ? Nicky that's scarey.

[Oliver_W]

So they carry knives in their handbags for gang members?

"Yo, homie, hand over all your money innit."
"No!"
"Bitch, give me the blade."
"Hang on, I just need to find it ... makeup ... purse ... lipstick ... mirror ... it's in here somewhere ..."

[AnnieK]

As it says in the report though a woman and more specifically a white woman is less likely to attract attention and be subject to stop and search etc leaving her more able to carry a knife, drugs etc. That is down to old prejudices about gang culture / criminals being predominantly male. Girls are every bit as capable as boys of being violent and committing crimes.

It is shocking but not unexpected I suppose given the rise in violent crime countrywide

[Nicky91]

Originally Posted by Kazanne

Well I could understand if it was pepper spray or something similar,just a bit surprised its knives.Hand grenades ? Nicky that's scarey.

yes, guys here put hand grenades in front (or place them on doors) of bars, restaurants, grocery stores

but mostly it's with those, which the owners have conflicts within criminal underworld or stores with foreign owners

but still quite scary and dangerous for people who walk daily in shopping district, live across the specific targetted bars, restaurants, stores


the knife incidents here though also seen multiple stabbings in our dutch crimewatch, mostly non-fatal, but recently one was fatal where the victim was mistaken for someone within the criminal underworld

[The Slim Reaper]

I feel like Manchester is heavily skewing the statistics in this survey.

[AnnieK]

Originally Posted by The Slim Reaper

I feel like Manchester is heavily skewing the statistics in this survey.

Come up here and say that....

[The Slim Reaper]

Originally Posted by AnnieK

Come up here and say that....

And get stabbed? Are you mental.

[LeatherTrumpet]

sharp rise

[arista]

Originally Posted by Oliver_W

So they carry knives in their handbags for gang members?

"Yo, homie, hand over all your money innit."
"No!"
"Bitch, give me the blade."
"Hang on, I just need to find it ... makeup ... purse ... lipstick ... mirror ... it's in here somewhere ..."

Yes could be

[Kazanne]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

sharp rise

Yes,living on a knife edge LT