LESS than a third of criminals guilty of knife or offensive weapons offences in West Yorkshire ended up in prison last year, new figures show.

Ministry of Justice figures show 292 offenders in the county were given an immediate sentence in the year to last September.

This is 31 per cent of the total 942 criminals who went through the justice system in West Yorkshire across 2021-22 for these types of offences.

It is another drop in the proportion of offenders being handed time behind bars, with 32 per cent in 2020-21 and 37 per cent the year before that.

About 11 per cent of the 942 offenders were cautioned, 27 per cent were given community sentences, 22 per cent were suspended sentences and eight per cent were dealt with in other ways.

The majority of those given jailtime for knife or offensive weapons offences were aged 18 and over (281, 96 per cent), with two per cent aged 16 to 17 (seven) and just over one per cent were aged 10 to 15 (four).

Anti-knife crime charity the Ben Kinsella Trust said further investment in the court system is needed to help it keep up with rising knife crime across the England and Wales.

Nearly 19,400 knife and offensive weapon offences were formally dealt with across England and Wales last year – a decrease of five per cent since the year ending September 2021.

This is despite separate figures showing an 11 per cent increase in knife crime over the course of the same period.

Patrick Green, Ben Kinsella Trust chief executive, said the figures show a difference between recorded knife crime and the number of offences that finally make it into court.

The court are failing to change the behaviour of habitual offenders, according to Mr Green.

He said: "But we cannot rely solely on the criminal justice system to resolve this issue on its own.

“We must widen our focus to stop knife crime at source by investing more in our young people and the services that support and divert them away from crime."

On a national level, the figures showed the average length of sentences for possession of a knife or offensive weapon increased slightly from 7.4 months in 2020-21 to 7.6 months last year.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “More criminals caught carrying a knife are being sent to jail for longer than they were a decade ago thanks to the decisive action of this Government to protect the public and make our streets safer.

“Our recent changes to sentencing mean repeat knife offenders are now more likely to face jail and the extra 20,000 police officers we are recruiting will help bring more criminals to justice.”

Those with three or more previous convictions or cautions ended up in jail for committing knife or offensive weapons offences in West Yorkshire in the majority of cases last year – accounting for 74 per cent.

But 11 per cent were handed suspended sentences, another 11 per cent community orders and four per cent dealt with in other ways.