Community leaders meet to discuss tackling knife crime in Oxford

The Oxford Knife Crime Summit was held at Unipart House yesterday (2/9) and was attended by Thames Valley Police, Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council, The Police and Crime Commissioner, SAFE! and other partners. 

Attendees discussed the work being carried out in Oxford to tackle knife crime and plans to further tackle the issue in the future, with a focus on supporting young people. 

In 2023-24, knife crime in Oxford was at its lowest level for the past 5 years, however, there have been high-profile unrelated incidents in Oxford earlier in the year.  

Knife Crime Summit 

The Serious Violence and Knife Crime Summit was the first of its kind to be held in Oxford. 

The Oxford Safer Communities Partnership discussed existing work to tackle knife crime and serious violence, including supporting young people, tackling domestic violence and protecting people at night, and agreed that this remains a priority.   

The group  will continue to oversee the delivery of the collective response as detailed in the Safer Oxfordshire Partnership’s Serious Violence Reduction Strategy, which can be found on the County Council website. 

The summit was organised by Oxford City Council. 

Existing work to tackle knife crime 

Oxford’s organisations are already carrying out a wide range of work to tackle knife crime in the city: 

• Thames Valley Police provides amnesty bins across the force area, including one in the reception area of St Aldates Police Station. Anyone can dispose of knives or other weapons, no questions asked - just drop it in the bin, no need to speak to anyone. If there is a weapon at home, get rid of it and help keep our communities safe. 

• Tackling knife crime is a priority for Thames Valley Police which conducts high-visibility patrols in high-risk areas, and targets those who are known to carry knives or involved in other criminal behaviour, particularly organised crime and drug supply. During a week of intensified activity in November, as part of Operation Sceptre, officers conducted 1,200 patrols in violence hotspots, carried out 110 test purchase operations with retailers selling knives and delivered 70 education sessions across the force area. 

• Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council and Thames Valley Police are leading members of the Thames Valley Violence Prevention Partnership, working together with other partners and communities to prevent violence and to tackle its root causes, with a range of education and early intervention projects active in the city, including sports initiatives, Hospital Navigators, family support, and education. 

• In May, the “Stay True to You” campaign launched, providing information on how to support young people in keeping safe.  It offers free online training for parents/carers and has been working with a range of Oxfordshire partners and local organisations.  A free online information session is offered to all parents from 6.30pm - 8.30pm on Wednesday 25 September. Visit the website to register - www.staytruetoyou.co.uk/parents 

• In March, the Police and Crime Commissioner committed £900,000 to tackle youth knife offending, including to speed up the time Youth Offending Teams take to contact under 18s arrested for knife-enabled offences. 

• Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council fund a wide range of youth and community activities – including youth clubs, mentoring programmes and summer holiday activities – to give young people positive activities and roles models. 

Knife crime statistics 

Data from Thames Valley Police shows that knife enabled crimes in Oxford are the lowest they have been in five years:  

• 89 knife enabled crimes in 2023/24 

• 99 knife enable crimes in 2022/23 

• 123 knife enable crimes in 2021/22 

• 116 knife enabled crimes in 2020/21 

• 144 knife enabled crimes in 2019/20 

Serious violence levels in Oxford are also at the lowest level in five years:  

• 55 offences in 2023/24 

• 71 offences in 2022/23 

• 75 offences in 2021/22 

• 55 offences in 2020/21 

• 59 offences in 2019/20 

Thames Valley Police data is collected August to August.  

Across England and Wales, serious incidents of knife crime increased by 0.04% in the last year: 

• 50,510 serious offences involving a knife in 2023/24 

• 50,489 serious offences involving a knife in 2022/23 

• 49,027 serious offences involving a knife in 2021/22 

• 44,286 serious offences involving a knife in 2020/21 

• 46,265 serious offences involving a knife in 2019/20 

Serious offences include threats to kill, assault, robbery, sexual assault, rape and murder. 

Data comes from the Office for National Statistics. 

Comment 

“Following a number of shocking knife crimes earlier this year which shook local communities in Oxford, I  tasked city council officers and the Cabinet Member for a Safer Oxford to set up a summit of all the key people to exchange good practice and see what more we could do.  

“I would like to reassure residents that actually, knife crime in Oxford is at the lowest level in five years. This is thanks to the work of local organisations, including youth groups, domestic violence charities, Thames Valley Police and the councils. 

“Yesterday we heard about some wonderful work going on in our city by local councils, charities, voluntary groups and public agencies to support families and young people and to tackle knife culture.  The Oxford Safer Communities Partnership will continue to lead the way by  ourcollective response to serious violence by exploring the ways we can support and protect the community.” 

Councillor Susan Brown, Leader of Oxford City Council 

"Knife crime affects everyone in our community, and it's only by working together that we can make meaningful change. 

"This summit marks an important step in our collective efforts to keep Oxford safe and support our young people to reach their potential.” 

Councillor Lubna Arshad, Cabinet Member for a Safer Oxford 

“We remain absolutely committed to reducing and preventing knife crime in our city. Knife crime spreads fear in our communities, particularly amongst our young people.” 

“I am pleased that the latest stats show both knife crime and serious violence are at the lowest level in the city for the past five years but we still have a lot of work to do to tackle this issue. 

“Our partnership-based approach to tackling knife crime remains a priority for all agencies, ensuring we maintain the momentum of recent activity to address the root causes of why people are drawn into carrying weapons and any associated criminality. 

“This includes raising awareness in educational sessions with schools and colleges; providing interventions at an earlier stage for those identified as being at risk of involvement in this activity; and additional patrols in our serious violence hotspots. 

“Whilst we continue to take a robust and proactive approach, our communities continue to play a vital role in our fight against knife crime. 

“If you have any information or know of someone who is carrying a knife, you can report this to us on 101 or online, or for 100% anonymity, by calling the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.” 

Superintendent Bruce Riddell, Commander for the Oxford policing area 

 "We can never be complacent about the risks of knife crime, yet it is important to recognise that knife crime is at its lowest levels in Oxford for the last five years. 

 “Today's Oxford Knife Crime Conference has been an important opportunity to reinvigorate the partnership between police, councils and charities who are all working collectively to prevent violent crime.  

 “I am pleased that the Op Deter Youth programme will soon be rolling out in Oxfordshire. I've made additional funding available to ensure the Youth Offending Service can respond within 90 minutes when the police arrest a young person for knife possession. 

 “Violence on our streets is unacceptable and I am determined to work to continue to reduce crime in Thames Valley." 

Matthew Barber, Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley