Rise in number of people in Luton caught with guns and knives

The number of people caught with guns and knives in Luton in 2019 has increased by more than a third compared to 2018, according to the latest police figures.

There were 288 weapons possession offences in 2019, data from the Office for National Statistics shows. These can include guns, knives and even corrosive acid.

That figure is up 40% on 2018, when 206 incidents were recorded.

Overall, police recorded crime in Luton slightly increased in 2019, over the period, 21,423 crimes were recorded, up by 1% on 2018.

That means there is a crime for at least one in every 10 residents in Luton, well above average for England and Wales.

The statistics are based on crimes reported to the police, and the ONS urges caution in interpreting some of these figures.

In Luton, there have been five homicides, which are murders or manslaughters. There were eight cases of death or injury by dangerous driving.

Theft, one of the most high volume crimes, decreased by 10% in Luton. Drugs related offences rose by 7%.

Bedfordshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Jackie Sebire said: “These numbers reflect the huge efforts we have taken across the force to take weapons off our streets.

“At the end of last year almost 5,000 knives and other bladed articles as well as 400 firearms were destroyed having been seized in Bedfordshire.

“Government funding has enabled us to run more than 100 patrols targeting gang hotspots, as well as set up our pioneering Violence and Exploitation Reduction Unit to work with other agencies and our communities to help guide young people down a better path.

“It is this partnership work which will have the biggest impact on really tackling these issues and ensure we see real change in the longer term.”

The National Police Chiefs' Council said there had been a substantial decrease in certain crimes such as residential burglaries and shoplifting since the coronavirus lockdown was enforced, but recognised there may be an increase in other forms of crime like domestic abuse.

NPCC lead for crime, Chief Constable Andy Cooke, said: "While it is highly unlikely that you will be a victim of violent crime, tackling violence continues to be a police priority and the use of tactics such as targeted stop and search has led to an increase in the recording of knife and blade possession offences by 11% during this period.

"We are clearly in a very different place since the coronavirus outbreak however, with provisional data from police forces showing a reduction in crime by around 28% compared to the same period in 2019.

"Our day-to-day service is not being impacted and people should keep reporting crime to us – our teams will work round the clock to keep the public safe and respond to emergencies."

Criminal damage in Luton, which includes arson and vandalising cars and houses, has gone down, from 2,134 incidents in 2018, to 1,926 in the latest figures.

Violence with injury crimes, which include assault, GBH and wounding, have dropped.

Similarly sexual offences are hard to judge as many more victims are now coming forward due to a series of high profile cases.

In Luton, there were 554 incidents recorded last year, a 10% decrease on the previous year, when 616 crimes were reported.

There were also 1,660 cases of stalking and harassment reported over the same period.