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<p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number
of people illegally carrying knives who have been charged with the offence or offences
of manslaughter. This information could only be obtained by an examination of CPS
case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>There is no system
of plea bargaining in courts in England and Wales. It may be appropriate for a plea
to be accepted to alternative charges in some cases. However, the CPS do not capture
any data on cases where this occurs centrally; therefore, the information could only
be obtained by an examination of CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate
cost. The CPS uses the Code for Crown Prosecutors to decide the charge and the <a
href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-acceptance-of-pleas-and-the-prosecutors-role-in-the-sentencing-exercise"
target="_blank">Attorney General’s guidelines on acceptance of pleas</a>, in deciding
whether to accept a guilty plea to a lesser charge. In both its Legal Guidance on
Offensive Weapons and the Knife Crime Practical Guidance, the CPS state that the weapon
offence should be charged in addition to the substantive offence.</p>
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