LONDON, July 18 (Xinhua) -- More than 4,000 victims of knife attacks were admitted to hospitals in England in 2016, including 771 children and teens, a report by Britain's Interior Minister revealed Tuesday.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd announced tough new measures after figures revealed last year more than 32,000 knife crime offences took place, a 14-percent increase over the previous year.
New action would restrict the online sale of knives and ban possession of dangerous or offensive weapons on private property. One proposal is to force people who buy knives online to collect them in person from the sellers, outlawing home delivery of knives. Rudd said this would be made responsible for ensuring knives were being sold to over-18s.
Banning the possession of outlawed weapons, such as zombie knives, knuckledusters and "throwing stars", on private property would mean police were able to seize them and make arrests.
The Home Office said the proposals come after police called for more powers to take action if they find such weapons in someone's home.
The consultation will also seek views on whether the offence of possessing a knife in a public place and school premises should be extended to also include the grounds of other educational establishments, such higher education institutions.
Secretary Rudd said: "Knife crime has devastating consequences. I am determined to tackle this and do all I can to break the deadly cycle and protect our children, families and communities. The action I am setting out today will help keep people safe and give police the powers they need to crack down on offenders.
"Prevention is also key and we will be working to educate our young people and give them the strength they need to turn away from knives."
Rudd's actions are aimed at supporting a police-led initiative, a series of coordinated weeks of intensified action on knife crime that takes place across the country. This will include weapon sweeps, test purchases in shops, targeted use of stop-and-search powers, and the use of surrender bins.
A record 32 police forces are taking part in the current week of action, which began on Monday 17 July, after the Home Office hosted a summit last month to encourage more to get involved.
Rudd this week visited a Metropolitan Police operation in London to view some of the knives police have seized and see a knife detector in action.
This fall the British government plans to launch a new anti-knife crime campaign, with a new 650,000 U.S. dollars fund for community projects tackling the issue. There are also plans to expand the capacity of youth violence intervention projects based in hospital emergency departments to reach and try to divert at risk young people.
