Only one in three knife criminals in Avon and Somerset receive an immediate prison term last year.
In 2018, 441 people were cautioned or convicted by police for possession of a knife or offensive weapon, or threatening others with a knife, according to Ministry of Justice data.
Of those, 131 were re-offenders and 34 had been cautioned or convicted three times or more and just 150 people, or 34 per cent, received an immediate prison sentence.
The proportion of knife criminals in Avon and Somerset being sent to prison dropped from 41 per cent in 2017, despite the number of criminals officers dealt with increasing by two per cent.
In 84 cases, knife criminals were handed a community order, 74 offenders were given a suspended sentence and a further 79 were hit with a fine or discharged from court without a sentence.
One in six people convicted or cautioned for knife crimes last year were children.
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