Fury as almost 500 knife crime suspects let off by cops in just 12 months
ALMOST 500 knife crime suspects were let off by cops in a year — after agreeing to go on a course or have therapy.
Shock figures show how forces used an alternative sanction to close crimes.
No further action is taken if the accused agrees to undertake a “diversionary educational or interventional activity”.
And they do not get a criminal record as they need not admit to the offence.
But there is a postcode lottery linked to the deferred prosecution method, known as Outcome 22 and introduced in 2019.
Home Office figures obtained by The Sun on Sunday show London’s Met Police did not use it at all in the year to March 2023.
But West Midlands Police used it 78 times and Greater Manchester Police 31.
Tory MP Alec Shelbrooke called it “worrying” and added: “If you carry a knife in the street, you are going out with the intention to kill and maim — so you should be dealt with harshly, the same as if you were carrying a gun.”
Ben Kinsella Trust anti-knife crime charity chief Patrick Green commented: “We must continue to take knives and those who carry them off our streets.”
The National Police Chiefs’ Council said that around one in 50 knife offences is dealt with by Outcome 22, and that it is suitable only for low-level offending like possessing a bladed article in public.
It added: “Officers take into consideration all circumstances of a case when making a decision about how it is dealt with.”