MORE than 100 people in Gwent were convicted of knife-related offences in the last year.

The figures for the 12 months up to September 2021 saw 138 punishments given out to people in Gwent for knife crime, with 43 of these - 31 per cent - being given immediate jail sentences.

The sentences are lower compared to the previous 12 months, in which 45 per cent of offenders were sent to prison.

The figure is also below the 2019 data, which saw 33 per cent sent to prison.

In 2015, ‘second strike’ sentences were introduced, which involve repeat offenders getting sentences of at least six months. Of those convicted in the last year, 39 had previous convictions, of whom 10 had two prior convictions, and six had three or more.

Of these offenders, 22 were sent to prison, and 17 repeat knife offenders were given non-custodial sentences or cautions.

Campaigners believe that the laws around knife crime are being applied in a ‘weak and ineffective way’.

Across England and Wales, 20,200 knife offences ended with a conviction or caution, with 28 per cent of people convicted sent to jail in the year to September 2021 compared to 36 per cent in the previous year.

Just over half of the 5,000 convicted across England and Wales who were repeat offenders were sent to prison, down on 63 per cent in the previous year.

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Patrick Green, chief executive of the Ben Kinsella Trust – an anti-knife charity – said: “These figures show that the justice system allowed thousands of habitual knife carriers to avoid prison and walk out of court.

“The prospect of an offender being imprisoned for a knife crime offence is diminishing and the law is no longer providing a deterrent to serial knife carriers.”

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said those caught carrying a knife are more likely to be sent to jail – and for longer – than they were a decade ago.

He added that the recruitment of 20,000 extra police officers coupled with sentencing reforms would bring more criminals before the courts and ensure offenders spend longer behind bars.

A spokesman for the National Police Chiefs' Council said tackling knife crime is a policing priority.

He said: "Proactive policing, speaking to local communities, weapons sweeps and effective targeting of habitual knife carriers have played a role in the number of offensive weapon offences that are prosecuted.

"Every weapon removed from the streets is possibly a life saved."