HL Deb 14 November 2000 vol 619 cc20-1WA
Lord Windelsham

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been under the Knives Act 1997 since it was brought into force. [HL4538]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Bassam of Brighton)

Sections 1 to 7, 9 and 10 of the Knives Act 1997 came into force on 1 September 1997.

Data for England and Wales, taken from the Home Office Court Proceedings Database, are as follows:

1997 1998 1999
Offence description Proc Conv Proc Conv Proc Conv
Section 1 (4) (a) 1 11 1 12 - -
Section 1 (4) (b) - - 2 13 5 -
Section 2(1) (a) - - - - 1 -
1 Conviction resulted in a fine.
2 Conviction resulted in a fine.
3 Conviction resulted in a Probation Order.

For Scotland, prosecutions under the Act cannot be identified separately from other "trading" offences.

For Northern Ireland, the data are not available.