AT THE SHARP END.

Byline: By Adam Jupp

The Chronicle today reveals the shocking scale of knife crime in the region.

There is more than one person is wounded and one robbery involving a blade every third day in the Northumbria force area.

The figures on incidents involving knives, swords and other sharp objects, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, come as a five-week national amnesty ended yesterday.

Police and victims today vowed to continue the battle against knife crime.

It comes following a spate of attacks and murders involving blades in the North East in recent months.

Chief Supt Chris Machell, of the Newcastle area command, said: "It seems to be the scourge of our society at the moment. Carrying a knife is a recipe for disaster."

And Northumbria Police Chief Constable Mike Craik today called for tougher sentences for those carrying knives.

Mr Craik said: "You should go to prison if you are caught with a lethal weapon in a public place. We have heard about soft sentences and those deemed too lenient. Sentences must match the severity of the injuries we see. There needs to be changes to legislation in the criminal justice system."

There were 6,074 incidents involving bladed articles in the Northumbria Police area in 2005. This could range from a dagger being discarded on the street to a knife being used as a murder weapon. This compares to 1999, when there were 5,028 crimes or incidents involving knives.

There were 137 people wounded by weapons including knives, swords, axes, screwdrivers and other sharp objects in 2005.

And 144 businesses were robbed by thugs carrying blades in the same period. There were three knife-related murders last year and one attempted murder.

Three people were kidnapped with a knife and one with a sword in 2005.

In recent months the North East has been rocked by a string of fatal stabbings. Hairdresser Sharon Bell, 38, was knifed to death at a hair salon, on Nelson Street, Newcastle, on May 23.

Mental health charity worker Ashleigh Ewing, 22, of Hebburn, South Tyneside, died after being stabbed on a home visit in Heaton, Newcastle, on May 19. Carie Burns, 21, was stabbed with a sword in a house in Consett, County Durham, on May 12.

Our probe comes at the end of a five-week knife amnesty. More than 600 blades were handed in the first week and officers are set to release the final figures on Tuesday.

Chief Supt Machell added: "I am pleased with the results of the knife amnesty. A whole host of different weapons, not just knives have been handed in and the fact that we now have these things means they can't be used in crimes.

"But as long as there are still certain shops in the area where you can go in an buy the most horrendous weapons, which are displayed in the window, there is still a problem.

"There are still plenty of opportunities to buy not just knives for use in your kitchen when chopping up vegetables or whatever, but hunting knives and weapons that have no place in our society. These places sell everything from replica guns to huge knives. It has to stop.

"People should realise that if you get caught using a knife, you are likely to face a term in prison. And the excuse of 'I'm using it for self-defence' doesn't hold any water at all."