Knife crime offences recorded by the Metropolitan Police rose year-on-year in the latest figures, but have not yet returned to levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Some 13,957 offences were recorded in the 12 months to September 2023, Home Office data shows.

This is up 22% from 11,452 in the previous 12 months, but is 5% lower than the 14,680 in the year to March 2020.

Of the 48,716 knife crime offences recorded in England and Wales in the year to September 2023, 29% were by the Metropolitan Police, a higher proportion than any other force.

West Midlands Police were second, accounting for 11% of the total (5,239 offences) and West Yorkshire Police were third on 5% (2,373).

But when looking at the number of offences per population, West Midlands Police had the highest rate, with 177 per 100,000 people, followed by Cleveland Police (159 per 100,000), then the Metropolitan Police (158 per 100,000) and South Yorkshire Police (117 per 100,000).

More than half of police forces in England and Wales recorded fewer knife crime offences in the year to September 2023 than in the pre-pandemic year of 2019/20, including some of the largest forces such as the Metropolitan Police, West Yorkshire and Merseyside.

Among the 15 forces that recorded more knife crime offences in the latest 12-month period than in 2019/20 were West Midlands (4% higher), Cleveland (30% higher), Northumbria (43% higher) and British Transport Police (99% higher).

Home Office data shows the number of knife crime offences recorded by the Metropolitan Police was rising at the start of the last decade, from 12,485 in 2010/11 to 13,260 in 2011/12, after which it fell steadily to reach 9,016 in 2014/15.

The number then began to climb again, peaking at 14,680 in 2019/20, before dropping sharply to 10,080 in 2020/21 – the first year of the pandemic.

A number of factors have contributed to rises in police recorded crime over recent years, according to the Office for National Statistics.

These include “improvements to recording processes and practices by the police, expansions of the recorded crime collection to include new offences, variations in police activity, more victims reporting crime, and genuine increases in some types of crime”.