By KUNA,
London : Police-recorded crime in England and Wales fell nine percent in the 12 months to last March, according to figures released by the Home Office Thursday.
The first-ever reliable figures for knife crime showed there were 22,000 offences last year.
They also showed that while the risk of being a victim is at its lowest ever level, people still think that the rate is going up. The annual crime report for 2007-2008 revealed the longest recorded period of falling crime, down 48 percent from 1995.
It showed there were five million recorded crimes.
All the main categories were down, including violent crime and sex offences, but drug offences were up 18 percent, gun crime was up two percent and murder was up three percent.
The annual report combines police-recorded crime and statistics from the British Crime Survey, a victimisation survey in which adults living in private households are asked about their experiences of crimes.
Commenting on the knife crime figures, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he wanted to make carrying a blade as “unacceptable” as having a gun on the streets.
“It is because we have identified the problem of knife crime, and particularly in some hotspots of the country, that we have stepped up our action dramatically”, he said. “We will do everything in our power to prevent people having knives”, Brown added.