Worrying increase in knife-related murders

VIOLENT knife crime rose by 8% in 2009, with worrying increases in murders and robberies involving knives.

Figures supplied to the Irish Examiner show the number of knife-related murders rose from 15 in 2008 to 19 in 2009 – a jump of 27%.

Provisional data, supplied by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), also reveals a hike in robberies involving knives: