'Significant concern' as two school-age children die in knife attacks every month

AT least two children die each month from knife attacks in England, with incidents rising.

- BY ROD MINCHIN

Most were killed by a single stab wound, the first national analysis of its kind found.

The study reveals a concerning increase in blade-related deaths among children under 17.

There were 21 in 2019-20, rising to 36 in 2023-24 — up 71%.

Two studies have shed light on knife crime by examining victims' social backgrounds and the violence they were exposed to before their deaths.

In the first - published in the Emergency Medicine journal — Bristol Medical School researchers examined the demographics and injuries from 145 knife deaths of under 18s killed in England from April 2019 to March 2024.

They used data from the National Child Mortality Database together with hospital, social care and police records to identify potential strategies to reduce knife fatalities.

Abuse

Of the 145 lives lost, 90% were male, with an average age of 14.4 years and 110 (75%) were from areas with the most poverty.

One third (32%) were black, and another third (31%) white.