More than three-quarters of knife crime offenders in Thames Valley had no previous knife-related convictions or cautions, new figures show.

Anti-knife crime charity the Ben Kinsella Trust said urgent change is needed to address this trend, as it suggests “for some, carrying knives has become normalised behaviour”.

Ministry of Justice figures show 483 first-time knife criminals in Thames Valley went through the criminal justice system in the year ending March 2023.

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They account for 78 per cent of all those found guilty of knife and offensive weapon offences.

Of these, only 17 per cent were jailed immediately.

Patrick Green, Ben Kinsella Trust chief executive, said this showed the law is not providing a sufficient deterrent and many first-time knife criminals would go on to become serial offenders.

In the Thames Valley, offenders were cautioned or sentenced 623 times for knife-related crimes.

Of those, 164 (26 per cent) resulted in immediate jail sentences – fewer than in 2019-20, when the figure stood at 29 per cent.

Thames Valley Police caught children aged under 18 with knives 114 times in 2022-23, an increase on 83 the year before.

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Mr Green said: “One possibility is that young people are feeling increasingly unsafe, and that they are mistakenly carrying knives for protection.

“Protecting our youth and fostering a safe environment for all should be a government priority.”

He added children are also influenced by social media, which “often portrays knives in a glamorised way” and said young people must be provided with the necessary support, education, and opportunities to steer them away from violence.