Around 55 people a day have been robbed at knifepoint, according to a disturbing analysis of the latest crime figures.
There were 20,000 robberies involving knives or other sharp instruments in the 12 months to September – up from 11,032 in 2015.
The Government has been accused of presiding over a ”crimewave”.
Altogether, the total number of knife offences climbed by five per cent year on year to 48,716 – more than 900 a week. These included 21,672 assaults and 5,459 threats to kill, and is an increase of 77 per cent on 2015.
The true figures are likely to be even higher because data from Greater Manchester Police and Devon and Cornwall Police has not been include.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Robbing someone at knife-point is an appalling and dangerous crime – yet thousands more people right across the country are becoming victims. The Tories’ failure to get any kind of grip on knife crime is dangerous and damaging.”
She said she had a plan to “clamp down on knife sales online and to get “zombie knives, ninja swords and other dangerous weapons off our streets”. She pledged to fund youth community hubs, youth workers and mental health professionals to “prevent young people being drawn into crime in the first place”.
Ms Cooper also promised “stronger action” for “those who repeatedly cause trouble in their community or are found carrying knives”.
Lee Anderson, a member of the Home Affairs committee who quit the Conservatives to join Reform UK, wants anyone found carrying a knife to face prison time.
He said: “There is crime wave because nothing is being done. Criminals know they can rob, they can thieve, they can attack people, they can burgle cars, they can steal cars – the chances of getting caught are nearly zero.”
He added: “There needs to be a clear message sent out. If you carry a knife you are going to jail.”
But a Conservative source said: “The data is clear, Labour is failing on knife crime. Over 50 per cent of all knife point robberies last year happened in areas with Labour Police and Crime Commissioners.”
The source insisted the Government had a “credible plan to tackle knife crime”, saying “violence reduction units” and “hotspot policing patrol” have “prevented an estimated 3,220 hospital admissions for violent injuries since 2019”.
He said: “These numbers further prove that where Labour are in power they are taking us back to square one.”