Knife amnesty makes streets safer

The Home Office has today revealed that a total of 89,864 knives were handed over during the National five week Knife Amnesty.

During the period from May 24 until June 30, people were encouraged to dispose of their knives in secure bins at police stations throughout England and Wales.

As a benefit for doing so, those who handed over these lethal weapons avoided prosecution for possession.

To build on this success, the Home Office has awarded £500,000 to police forces in England and Wales to pursue enforcement such as high visibility police patrols in knife crime hotspots and education such as weapons awareness programmes in schools.

Speaking earlier, Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said: "I am delighted that so many knives have been taken out of circulation. I believe that fewer knives on our streets make us all more secure. I want to send out a very strong message that carrying a knife without a legitimate reason is both dangerous and illegal. Those who carry knives must understand the weapons can be turned on them and that knives don't make anyone safer.

"Working with the police, we will continue to spread the message that carrying knives without a good reason is against the law. I believe ongoing programmes of education and enforcement can go a long way to tackle this danger whether it is through education packs for teachers or working with retailers to encourage them not to sell knives to children aged under 16."

Tony Melville, Association of Chief Police Officers lead on knife crime and Assistant Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police said:

"I am pleased that so many people took this opportunity to hand in those knives and sharply bladed instruments that they no longer need to own. Every knife that is taken off our streets is one that cannot be used to kill, maim or intimidate and I want to thank everyone who made use of the amnesty and made our communities safer places.

"The amnesty is certainly a step in the right direction and I hope it will prove to be a catalyst in changing the culture of routine knife possession, minimising the opportunity for the serious harm that can follow from the violent use of a knife."

The Violent Crime Reduction Bill, which is currently before Parliament, contains several measures to address knife crime.

It is understood that these will increase the age limit for buying knives to 18 and will make it illegal for people who own knives to use other people to hide or carry such dangerous weapons on their behalf.

Community groups will have until August 4 to apply for money from the Home Office Connected Fund to help tackle issues like knife crime.

(EF/SP)