Knife crime, what are the facts?

Recently the papers have published lots of stories on rising levels of knife crime. 

• A House of Commons Briefing from the 9th November gives recent statistics comparing with the last few years and considering the methods of recording the data. It notes   In 2017/18 there were 268 murders using a sharp instrument, including knives and broken bottles, accounting for 33% of all homicides – an increase from the 216 recorded in 2016/17.
• The NHS records hospital admissons for particular types of causes including injuries.
• Knife crime is a major concern in London the GLA Mayor website has some resources, including a recently-published knife strategy
• The Centre for Crime and Justice studies has some reports on policing, crime and young people.  They include reviews of policing.  The latest report was  published in November