The number of people killed with a knife in England and Wales in 2021/22 was the highest on record for 76 years.
Around four in 10 homicides were committed using a knife or sharp instrument in the year to March 2022 (282).
This is a 19% rise compared with the previous year and the highest annual total since records began in 1946, according to analysis from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The 2021/22 total number of homicides – murder, manslaughter and infanticide – is similar to a previous high of 281 in the 12 months to March 2018, a report published on Thursday said.
