Figures reveal rise in knifepoint robberies

London: Knifepoint robberies shot up by 10 per cent last year, official crime figures have revealed.

British police statistics show one victim is held up by a knife-carrying criminal every 35 minutes.

Senior officers have warned the attacks are carried out by muggers determined to steal smartphones and cash.

Separate figures show a double digit rise in the number of pickpocket thefts — the biggest increase for nearly a decade.

Across England and Wales, robbery rose by 4 per cent in the year to September 2011 compared to the previous 12 months.

There were 15,313 knifepoint robberies in the same period — up 10 per cent from the 13,971 offences a year earlier, police crime statistics showed. 

The Metropolitan Police recorded a 13 per cent rise in robberies in London and West Midlands Police recorded a 10 per cent increase.

Former Met commissioner Lord Stevens, who is chairing a commission into the future of policing set up by Labour, said the rise in crimes against the person was alarming.

He said: "I'm not surprised. It's really worrying. We've got to get on top of them really quickly or you could run out of control."

The British Crime Survey, based on a poll of more than 40,000 victims, suggested a 5 per cent rise in burglary, and a 7 per cent increase in car theft.

Pickpocket thefts rose by 12 per cent to nearly 600,000, while garden shed break-ins fuelled a 15 per cent rise in other thefts of personal property.