The number of repeat knife crime offenders in the North East increased in the past year, with dozens avoiding jail, The Northern Echo can reveal.
More than a third (36.8%) of knife offences in the region are committed by people with previous convictions or cautions, new figures show.
Meanwhile, courts are letting dozens of repeat offenders avoid immediate jail terms, with seven in 20 repeat knife offenders hauled before judges walking free from court.
That includes some with three or more previous convictions or cautions to their name.
It comes as Tanya Brown, whose son Connor was killed with a knife in Sunderland in 2019 and branded the rise “frightening”, said sentences were too lenient and rehabilitation not enough to tackle the scourge of blades.
One of Connor’s killers Ally Gordon, who was jailed for three-and-a-half-years for manslaughter but released halfway into his sentence on licence, went on to be jailed again after allowing a childhood friend wanted for murder to lay low in his flat and being caught carrying a knife in Scotland.
Tanya, who runs the Connor Brown Trust campaigning on knife crime in her son’s memory, said: “What has he learnt? He hasn’t learnt anything because the repercussions weren’t enough.
“There was clearly no proper rehabilitation for him in the short time he spent in prison when he went on to carry a knife again.
“There will never be enough justice in the world for somebody who has lost a child, but there has to be some sort of justice. If I got the justice I deserved for Connor he (Ally Gordon) couldn’t have caused another family pain by helping a murderer, and he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to carry another knife.
“There’s a lack of punishment and a lack of education.”
She continued: “The maximum sentence for carrying a knife is four years - who on earth has received a sentence like that? They are getting a slap on the wrist, it’s no deterrent.
“I understand prisons are crowded, but if they can’t give them the punishment then they need to look at different ways. I do feel for the services because I know that they are stretched and it all comes down to cuts.”
Figures from the Ministry of Justice show the Criminal Justice System dealt with 928 knife and offensive weapon offenders in the North East in the year to March.
Of these, 342 had a previous conviction or caution, meaning 36.8% were committed by repeat offenders.
This was up slightly from 36.1% the year before, and higher than the national average for England and Wales of 31.5%.
In the Cleveland force area, four in ten knife offenders had a previous caution or conviction.
Meanwhile Patrick Green, chief executive of the Ben Kinsella Trust, said: "The increasing number of repeat offenders with knife crime convictions is alarming."
He called for "crucial" investment in rehabilitation rather than simply locking people up to break the "cycle of reoffending" the figures expose.
The figures also show the overall number of knife and offensive weapon offences dealt with by the justice system in England and Wales fell 3.3% in the past year, from 19,200 in 2022-23 to 18,600 last year.
In the North East, the number decreased slightly, from 1,058 to 1,021.
Mr Green said the fall in offences dealt with by the justice system shows a "concerning anomaly".
He said: “Office of National Statistics figures released last month show that knife crime offences have grown 4% in the last year, yet Thursday’s figures from the Ministry of Justice show a fall in the number of offenders being dealt with by the criminal justice system."
“This does raise questions about whether the full force of the law is being correctly applied in knife crime cases.”
He added the "alarming statistic" of 3,206 knife crime offences committed by 10 to 17-year-olds is "deeply troubling". The number of these offences committed by under-18-year-olds has increased by 20% since 2014.
“It's clear we are moving in the wrong direction. To effectively address knife crime, we must prioritise preventing young people from becoming involved in such violence," he said.
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In the North East, 11.9% of all knife and offensive weapon offenders were 10 to 17 years old.
The Northern Echo has been campaigning to tackle knife crime following the fatal stabbing of 18-year-old Jack Woodley from Newton Aycliffe in October 2021.
The newspaper launched the North East Knife Crime Taskforce last year to bring together organisations working across the region to tackle the problem.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said knife crime is a “scourge on our society”, adding the Government is dedicated to halving knife crime within a decade.
They said: “First steps will include making sure the tightest restrictions are in place to limit the sale of dangerous weapons, including banning ninja swords.
“We will also end the practice of empty warnings, ensuring carrying knives triggers rapid intervention and tough consequences.”
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