Drop-off points for people to discard unwanted knives have been set up at police stations across Nottinghamshire.
Amnesty bins have this week been placed inside nearly a dozen stations as part of the anti-knife crime campaign ‘Operation Sceptre’.
This will allow anyone wanting to throw a knife away without fear of being prosecuted to do so during the week of action, which runs until Sunday (21 May).
Nearly 200 knives were seized and destroyed after being dropped off into different amnesty bins across the county during the last Op Sceptre in November 2022.
Nottinghamshire Police hopes to build on that success this time, with 11 bins being set up at the front counters inside police stations and shared service locations throughout the week.
An amnesty bin has also been set up for the week at the Pilgrim Church, in The Meadows.
In a bid to take even more weapons off the streets, the force installed permanent amnesty bins inside three stations last autumn, with an extra bin recently being added inside Oxclose Lane Station, in Bestwood, too.
Having this extra offering all year-round at Radford Road, Mansfield and Newark stations has led to even more weapons being taken out of harm’s way, with the extra location looking to expand this offering.
Op Sceptre offers just a snapshot of the ongoing efforts by Nottinghamshire Police to tackle knife crime, with these permanent drop-off points providing just one example of this.
Superintendent Kathryn Craner, Nottinghamshire Police’s knife crime lead, said: “While stopping people from picking up a knife in the first place is our ultimate aim for tackling knife crime, it is also essential that we do whatever we can to help take weapons off our streets.
“By setting up amnesty bins in different locations across our communities, we are trying to make it as easy as possible for people to discard any unwanted knives they have so that they can be taken out of harm’s way.
“While I understand some people will have some concerns about going into a police station and using an amnesty bin, please rest assured that you won’t get in trouble if you do so – this is not a trick.
“There are lots of reasons why someone might want to visit one of our drop-off points, whether that’s to safely discard a blade they’ve just found, or to rid themselves of one that belongs to them.
“Certain offensive weapons, like zombie knives, knuckledusters and friction lock batons, are also now illegal to be kept in people’s homes – whereas they weren’t before – so the bins offer a way to safely hand those in too.
“Of course, tackling knife crime is very much a year-round issue, which is why we’ve set up permanent bins, but having so many drop-off points available during Op Sceptre is a big help.
“This initiative has directly led to us seizing hundreds of unwanted blades in the past, so hopefully we’ll see similar results this time around.”
Throughout the week of action, knife amnesty bins will be situated inside stations, shared services and other locations in:
- Bulwell – Gilead Street, NG6 8NA
- St Ann’s – St Ann’s Well Road, NG3 3HR
- Broxtowe – Strelley Road, NG8 6LL
- Beeston – Foster Avenue, NG9 1AB
- Byron House – Maid Marian Way, Nottingham city centre, NG1 6HS
- Retford – The Square, DN22 6DE
- Worksop – Potter Street, S80 2AH
- Kirkby – Urban Road, NG17 8DA
- Ollerton – Forest Road, NG22 9QZ
- The Meadows – the Pilgrim Church, Queens Walk, NG2 2DF
- Oxclose Lane – NG5 6FZ
Members of the public should check the opening times at the relevant police station near them before attempting to drop off any items.
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