"Truly shocking" - New figures show hundreds of people were arrested in Calderdale for knife-related crimes including murder, sexual assault and robbery over the last three years

Since August 2020, 355 people have been arrested for knife-related crimes in Calderdale, including two arrests for murder in Ovenden in August 2021 and five arrests for attempted murder.

One arrest was for a sexual assault on a female aged 13 and over and six arrests were for rape of a female aged 16 and over.

There were 71 arrests for threats to kill, 107 arrests for assault with injury, 48 arrests for robbery of personal property and seven arrests for robbery of business property.

One arrest was for racially or religiously aggravated assault with injury, 105 arrests were for assault with intent to cause serious harm and two arrests were for assault with injury on a constable.

The oldest arrests were for two 70-year-old men, one of which was for an assault in Rastrick in April 2022 and the other was for an assault in Hipperholme and Lightcliffe in July 2023.

The youngest person arrested was a 12-year-old girl for an assault in Rastrick in August 2022.

Four 13-year-olds were arrested for knife-related crimes over the last three years - a boy for an assault in Todmorden in January 2023, girl for threats to kill in June 2022, a boy for a robbery in Sowerby Bridge in May 2022 and a boy for an assault in Luddenden Foot in November 2021.

Of the 355 arrested, 47 were aged under 18.

Halifax MP Holly Lynch said: “These Calderdale knife crime statistics and the stories behind them are truly shocking.

"Children as young as 12 and 13 arrested for knife crimes is a stark warning that we have to intervene early with young people and their families if we are to tackle this growing problem.

"Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has pledged an additional 13,000 police officers and PCSOs to work in neighbourhoods under a Labour Government, extra numbers which will be essential if we are going to reverse the trend.”

In a statement, Calderdale District Police said: "Efforts to reduce knife crime remains a priority for West Yorkshire Police. Our proactive initiative, Operation Jemlock, continues to work across the force area to both target offenders, seize weapons and carry out long term preventative work to educate and protect communities.

"Overall figures show that knife crime has reduced since 2019 here in West Yorkshire, with the number of knife related offences in Calderdale remaining stable with no increase in number of incidents involving knives. It is important to note that due to the way knife crime is reported, there are instances where a knife was not produced or used but reference has been made to the possession of a weapon. All reports are recorded for accuracy and undergo an appropriate level of investigation.

"In Calderdale we continue to take a proactive approach to removing knives off our streets and work with partner agencies and third sector charities to carry out educational work within schools to reinforce the dangers of carrying knives.  

"We continue to work within communities across Calderdale alongside our partners and to act on community intelligence regarding knife crime. We ask residents to contact West Yorkshire Police or Crimestoppers with any information or intelligence about knife crime in their area."

West Yorkshire’s Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Alison Lowe OBE said: “Any offence of serious violence is obviously concerning to our communities, and I continue to monitor the trends closely with the Chief Constable and West Yorkshire Police.

“Tackling serious violence can’t be achieved by any one agency, however, and we are committed as a partnership to bringing about further reductions in the Calderdale District.”

Director of the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP), Det Ch Supt Lee Berry said: “Through better understanding the root causes of serious violence, we are helping to coordinate and enhance the response, with prevention at the heart of our approach.

“In 22/23 alone, we supported over 6,000 young people in Calderdale across a number of interventions, such as our education inclusion pilot at Trinity Academy Grammar School and local custody diversion projects.

“The ‘BLOSM’ Navigator pilot for the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust also went live in January 2023, assisting just over 400 young people in the first five months.”