England Child Knife Deaths Rise to 36 in 2023-24

At least two school-aged children die each month from knife injuries in England, with fatalities among those under 17 rising sharply from 21 in the 2019-20 period to 36 in 2023-24, according to two new studies from researchers at Bristol Medical School and the University of Bristol.

The research, the first national analysis of its kind, examined 145 deaths of children and young people under 18 from knife wounds between April 2019 and March 2024. Drawing on data from the National Child Mortality Database, along with hospital, social care and police records, the studies identified patterns in victims' backgrounds and injuries to inform prevention efforts. Of the victims, 90 were male, with an average age of 14.4 years. Three-quarters, or 110, came from the most deprived areas, where children were seven times more likely to suffer fatal stab wounds than those in affluent regions. Around one-third, or 32 percent, were black, and another third were white. On a population basis, young people of black or black British ethnicity faced a 13 times higher risk of knife-related death compared to their white peers.

Most fatalities stemmed from a single stab wound, with two-thirds of victims...