Knife crime Police hoping to melt down weapons for cash
AVON and Somerset Police hopes to create a positive legacy from deadly knives which have been taken off the streets of Bristol by melting them down to raise funds for charity. Seventeen surrender sites, including two surrender bins, have been responsible for more than 5,000 knives being taken off the street since 2016.
During the past two years, between 1,000 and 1,500 knives have been handed in annually. The number of blades being handed in is also steadily rising as on average around 150 knives a week are being removed from the city’s streets.
The bins are secure containers where people can safely dispose of a knife or blade, without question or fear of arrest. Two more surrender bins are expected to be installed within the next few weeks, in St Pauls and on Stapleton Road in Easton, and police hope that more bins will follow as the year goes on.
Chief Inspector Mike Vass, who is the knife crime lead at Avon and
Somerset Police, says that creating a positive legacy from the knives being taken off the streets is the aim. He said: “We are working to establish a revenue from melting the knives down.
“We would sell the metal and the money we generate will go to a charity that we work with, Lifeskills, which educates children and vulnerable adults in important life skills. This includes operating training sessions on bleed kits which could help save lives.”
The money generated from the knives would go towards not just bleed kit training, but other essential life skills to better improve more than 11,000 children’s lives across the region. This in turn would show the communities of Bristol that the police will work with them, according to Chief Inspector Vass.
The chief inspector added: “As engagement increases with the surrender sites and the Lifeskills charity, we can reassure communities that not only are knives being taken off the street but that everyone is working together to improve the situation.
“Once we create that revenue from the surrender campaign, the visual effect of all our background work will be seen and it will be positive for everyone. We’d get rid of dangerous weapons and help educate children about the consequences of knife crime, we’d create a positive legacy which goes back into the community.”
Chief Insp Vass said the past six months had seen anxiety concerning knife crime increase in the wake of bloodshed on Bristol’s streets.
He added: “When we first started the surrender sites, we saw a lot of kitchen knives and antique knives. Now we find there are a lot of deadly knives which have no place in society.
“The community is also engaging with the knife bins which is so positive for the police as well. The surrender sites are reassuring the communities that knives are being taken off the streets, and the engagement from those communities helps the police and, when the communities are seeing all of us working together, it provides more reassurance.”