Published 14 days ago • loading... • Updated 14 days ago
Nearly 15,000 knives and weapons surrendered as 8 amnesty bins set up in Yorkshire
The Home Office-backed scheme has collected more than 15,000 weapons since July last year, including 783 handed in at a mobile van.
The Home Office recently installed eight new amnesty bins across Yorkshire, including in Barnsley, Sheffield, Leeds, and Wakefield, bringing the nationwide total to 45. These bins encourage anonymous weapon surrenders to prevent violent crime.
Since last July, more than 15,000 weapons have been removed through this government-backed scheme. Managed by charities including Word 4 Weapons, the initiative operates on a "no questions asked" basis to ensure safe, anonymous surrenders.
Policing Minister Sarah Jones reported that knife crime has fallen 11% since the general election. "Every dangerous weapon that has been surrendered so far is a weapon off our streets," Jones said.
Pooja Kanda, whose son Ronan was killed in 2022, welcomed the milestone marking one year since Ronan's Law. She called the surrender scheme "another important step in preventing dangerous weapons from causing further harm."
In South Yorkshire, campaigner Anthony Olaseinde has removed 3,000 weapons through partnership with the Violence Reduction Unit. Local officials remain committed to community-led prevention, emphasizing that despite recent reductions, they stay vigilant on the issue.