25 Year Starting Point for Knife Killers

Those who go onto the street armed with a knife and commit murder now face significantly longer jail terms.

The adult starting point for sentencing knife killers who carry the weapon to the scene has, from this week, been increased to 25 years. This is more closely aligned to that for murder using a firearm, where the starting point is 30 years.

The 10 year increase follows a detailed review of the starting point from which courts set the minimum time those who kill must spend in prison before they can be considered for release.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw said:

‘I have seen the devastation that knife crime can cause. The loss of a loved one in any circumstances is heart-breaking, and even more so when they are the victim of a senseless and appalling murder. It is only right that those who carry knives with the intention of using them, go to prison for a long time.

‘That is why I announced in November last year that the jail term available to judges when sentencing anyone who kills using a knife, carried onto the street will start at 25 years.

‘I am determined to stamp out knife crime on our streets. The government is very clear that serious crimes must have serious consequences.’

‘It is partly by introducing tough sentences like these that we have seen crime fall by almost 40% since 1997. If you carry a knife there is now more chance than ever of being caught. You are more likely to be stopped and searched. You will be arrested and, for the first time, there is now a presumption that you will be prosecuted. If found guilty, you are three times more likely to go to prison than in 1997, and for a third longer.

‘There is clearly much still to do but keeping knife killers in jail and knife killers in jail and off the streets for longer is an important step.’

Notes to editors

1. Schedule 21 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 can only be amended by order subject to Parliamentary approval.

2. The mandatory sentence for anyone convicted of murder is life imprisonment. It is up to the trial judge to decide the minimum period that needs to be served before the offender can be considered by the Parole Board for release.

3. Schedule 21 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 outlines that the starting point for murder using a knife is currently 15 years and the starting point for murder involving the use of a firearm is currently 30 years. But judges may go up or down from the starting point according to the circumstances and aggravating and mitigating factors of the case.

4. Schedule 21 refers to any weapon, not solely a knife, which is taken onto the street with intent to use as a weapon.

5. This change will only apply to adults who take a weapon to the scene. Sentencing for those who act in self defence will be unaffected.

6. The review of the starting point for murder was announced to Parliament on 16 June 2009.

7. The new adult starting point of 25 years for murder using a weapon, taken to the scene with the intention of use and then used in the commission of the offence will apply to offences committed on or after 2 March.

8. For more information please contact the Ministry of Justice press office on 020 3334 3528.

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