Thousands of weapons have been taken off Greater Manchester's streets in the past year. Greater Manchester Police says officers have seized 3,265 weapons since April 2022 as part of a major blitz on knife crime and serious violence.
And a further 3,400 knives have been handed in to police using amnesty bins over the past three months. It comes amid concern about knife crime in the region following a spate of serious incidents since the turn of the year, while GMP figures say 898 knife crimes were reported from November to January.
Tommy McDonagh, who runs Collyhurst and Moston Amateur Boxing Club, last month described knife crime as a 'pandemic' that was 'just getting worse'. But GMP insists its actions are having a positive effect - with the region seeing 168 fewer recorded knife crime offences in 2022, a reduction of 3.8% against 2021.
