200+ Blades Handed In During Dorset Knife Surrender

2 April 2019, 16:28 | Updated: 2 April 2019, 16:31

An axe and three ornamental swords were among more than 200 items handed in during a week-long knife surrender in Dorset.

The amnesty was part of the ongoing national knife crime reduction initiative Operation Sceptre and ran from 11 - 17 March 2019.

All of the knives and other items surrendered anonymously will be destroyed. 

In all there were 209 items which were either knives or had blades, and a handful of other items including three ornamental swords, one set of nunchakus, an axe, a hammer and a pair of carving forks.

As with previous amnesties, a lot of domestic knives were binned. Outside of amnesty periods, people with unwanted knives can dispose of them in household waste as long as they are packaged securely so as to avoid handling injuries. 

Otherwise they can be deposited along with other bladed items in the metal recycling skip at local reclamation facilities.

Superintendent Jared Parkin said: 

"People have taken the time and trouble to hand in potentially dangerous items which have now been destroyed and are out of circulation. As a preventive measure, coupled with increasingly stringent national legislation on the sale of knives, we feel this is proportionate and helpful in maintaining a much lower level of knife related incidents than in other areas of the country.

"Having said that we are not complacent and would urge anyone who has concerns that a relative of friend may be carrying a knife with no good reason to contact the police. You can do that anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0300 123 2040 if you prefer."

Martyn Underhill, Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner, said: 

"Knife crime is a scourge, and ruins lives. As well as education, early intervention in schools and of course the prosecution of offenders, knife amnesties are an essential tool in the ongoing campaign to remove knives from our streets, and I am glad so many people have handed in these items."