Member Article

National Knives Amnesty

The Government has announced a nationwide knives amnesty as part of plans to reduce the number of serious weapons carried on our streets. Home Secretary, Charles Clark proposed the amnesty which will be held between 24 May and 30 June this year.

The amnesty will target those who carry knives and offensive weapons and will kick off with a public campaign supporting the amnesty, urging people to hand in their knives during the five-week period to the nearest police station. The nationwide amnesty will be backed up by a tough police enforcement campaign to drive home the message that carrying knives is not acceptable and will build upon other weapon related initiatives already in action around the UK. Mr Clarke said, “Tackling knife culture, especially among young people, is paramount to the safety of our communities, and I am determined to reduce the devastation caused by knife crime.

The message of this campaign is simple - carrying knives on the streets will not be tolerated. “Ordinary, law-abiding citizens do not want to see their communities blighted by violence. We are doing everything we can through legislation, law enforcement, working with communities and across government to prevent knife crime.” It is currently illegal to carry an offensive weapon in a public place without lawful authority. The penalty for doing so may be as much as six months imprisonment and/or £5000 fine.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .