Over 15,000 knives handed in to Suffolk Police

More than 15,000 knives and blades have now been handed in to Suffolk police.

Since Bin a Blade was launched in the county in 2011, 15,218 blades have been deposited.

An initial year-long amnesty saw 6,125 knives anonymously left in six amnesty bins (four static and two mobile) around the county in 2011. In 2012 a further 2,205 blades were deposited and 2,606 dropped in the bins in 2013. In 2014, a total of 1,720 knives were surrendered and 2,562 during 2015.

Permanent, static bins remain outside Lowestoft, Bury St Edmunds and Mildenhall police stations, with officers encouraging anyone who wishes to dispose of a knife to use one of these bins. A temporary bin also sits outside Sudbury police station.

All the deposited knives are taken to Sackers Recycling in Great Blakenham where they are safely disposed of.

Suffolk Police’s Chief Constable Gareth Wilson said: “It is impressive that this campaign has been running for five years and we are still seeing over 2,500 knives being deposited in 2015. This shows that not only is the project continuing to be successful but that residents of Suffolk want to help us to stop knife crime.

“By using this amnesty, residents are stopping the chance of knives ending up in the wrong hands and being used to commit crime anti-social behaviour or injury, by responsibly and safely disposing of them in one of our bins.”

“Our campaign ensures that bladed items can be deposited anonymously, any day of the week and at any time.”

Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore said: “We need to do all we can through education, peer pressure, policing and sentencing to make it absolutely clear that it’s never acceptable for a person to carry a knife or weapon.

“I fully support the use of these bins and would encourage anyone who has a knife or any other weapon to dispose of them responsibly and immediately. Ultimately it is about making Suffolk as safe as possible.”

Previous successes have included a hard-hitting film which was launched on Suffolk Constabulary’s YouTube channel. Bin a Blade has also featured in an exhibition at the V&A Museum of Childhood.