Labour has slammed the Tories as being soft on crime after it discovered repeat knife offenders are regularly spared jail.
In several counties rates of serial knife criminals avoiding jail in the last five years were above 30%.
The party said it showed a Tory pledge in 2015 to jail repeat knife offenders for a minimum of six months is “in tatters”.
The shock revelations came as Labour leader Keir Starmer pledged to “restore faith in law and order”.
He warned of a “victims’ crisis” with Home Office figures showing more than one in four victims giving up last year before their cases had concluded.
Putting justice at the heart of Labour’s local election campaign, he said: “As Director of Public Prosecutions, I saw the essential value of victims’ knowing they would be backed to the hilt until justice was served.
"The Conservatives have decimated the system.”
National crime figures show 44% of serial knife offenders avoided jail last year.
Repeat offences rose from 12% to 18% between June 2011 and last year.
Shadow Justice Secretary Steve Reed said: “This data proves bungling Dominic Raab (Justice Secretary) and this law-breaking Conservative government are soft on crime.
"Time and again, the Conservatives have broken their promises to tackle knife crime.
“We’ll create police hubs and neighbourhood prevention teams to make your area safe again.”
In 16 counties and regions more than a third of repeat knife offenders avoided jail. Top were Gloucestershire (41%), Sussex (41%), Dorset (38%), Devon and Cornwall (38%).
The Government insisted: “Those caught with a knife are more likely to be sent to jail than a decade ago.”
