There’s a “real appetite” from communities to get rid of knife crime. That was the message from Avon and Somerset Police as Bristol’s first two community surrender weapons bins were installed yesterday (Monday) in the city centre and in South Bristol.
The community surrender bins were officially installed in The Park Centre in Daventry Road and Castle Park in the city centre in a bid to get more dangerous weapons off the streets. This follows the force's initiative where 13 weapon surrender bins were placed next to police stations or shared police sites and local authority buildings in 2016, which allowed for dangerous weapons to be handed in without any questions being asked.
Avon and Somerset Police's lead for knife crime, Chief Inspector Mike Vass, said those bins saw more than 4,000 dangerous weapons being handed in - and the goal of the new community weapon surrender bins was to widen the initiative to get weapons off the street by improving accessibility. He said: “It’s really exciting because these units are only going into position at the request of communities as to where they’ve asked for.”
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He said police had received a long list of bids from communities wanting surrender bins which were easily accessible. He said: “There’s a real appetite for accessibility for these types of surrender units.”
The new community surrender bins are completely anonymous and will be opened once a month for collections. The bins have been bolted down and the slot to deposit weapons has been specifically designed to prevent anyone being able to reach into the bin.
Chief Inspector Vass said that previous weapons handed into bins next to police stations included a wide variety of weapons from plain kitchen knives to 'zombie' knives. He said since the changes to the Offensive Weapons Act in 2019, the public had become more aware of what type of weapon was illegal.
This includes weapons that were previously allowed and which were popular due to movies or games, such as 'zombie' knives, 'Klingon war blades', 'ninja stars' and 'Rambo knives'. He said other dangerous weapons handed in included medieval weapons, antique weapons (more than 100 years old), First and Second World War bayonets, combat and/or hunting knives, concealed blades and ceramic blades.
Community member Leanne Reynolds, who campaigned to reduce knife crime after the stabbing of Dontae Davis in Lawrence Hill in October 2021, has also been actively involved in setting up surrender weapons bins. Speaking at the launch of the bins she said: “I’m very pleased see them coming in communities so people can get rid of weapons.
“These community sites are 100 per cent anonymous and there are no cameras around. There’s no reason to be walking with a knife,” she said.
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