National Knife Amnesty Campaign
Back to Previous pageNational Knife Amnesty Campaign
8 February 2006
A nationwide knives amnesty will be held between 24 May and 30 June.
Police forces in England, Scotland and Wales will take part in a knife amnesty programme this spring, as part of a wide-ranging effort to reduce in the number of illegal knives on the nation’s streets.
During the amnesty period, a public campaign will let people know where they can take knives of all sorts to hand them over to police without fear of prosecution.
The programme will be similar to the firearms amnesty held three years ago in which 44,000 weapons were voluntarily given to Police.
Getting knives off the street
The Home Secretary Charles Clarke said, ‘Encouraging people to hand in knives is part of our overall strategy to make communities safer – every weapon handed in during the amnesty will be a weapon that cannot be used in crime.
'Anyone with a knife, or other offensive weapon that might be used to cause fear and distress on our streets should take this chance to get rid of it.’
Tough enforcement
The nationwide amnesty will be accompanied by a tough police enforcement campaign that will drive home the message that carrying knives is neither legal nor acceptable.
The Violent Crime Reduction Bill, currently before Parliament, will also strengthen the laws on knives still further, while another meeting of the Home Office round-table focusing on gun, knife and gang issues will be held this spring.
Police supported
Tony Melville, ACPO lead on knife crime and Assistant Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police, said, ‘We support the Government in this initiative in an attempt to reduce the number of knives and similar type weapons on our streets.’
Knife laws
The amnesty is in keeping with wide-ranging Government efforts to reduce knife crime. It is illegal to carry a knife in public without good reason or lawful authority, except for small, folding pocket-knives with blades less than three inches.
In recent years the manufacture, sale and importation of many knives have been banned including:
- stealth knives
- flick knives
- gravity knives
- disguised knives
