Residents of Salford have been encouraged by the local policing team to surrender knives in Walkden this weekend.
The event that will be held over the weekend at St. Mary’s park, will give locals of Little Hulton, Walkden and Worsley the opportunity to hand in knives.
Having the opportunity to safely dispose of them without fear of prosecution, on both the 21st and 22nd September from 10am onwards.
The surrender event will coincide with the change of legislation from Tuesday 24 September that will make owning certain bladed articles illegal.
With the legislation having a crack down on the manufacture, supply, sale, possession and importation of zombie-style knives and machetes.
The event that started on Monday 26 August, has stretched over a month, with the policing team sharing that the move is to ensure the neighbourhood safety.
And have urged anyone that decides to deposit their weapons at the event safely, with the blade wrapped safely in cardboard and bring it to St. Mary’s Park in Walkden.
The Greater Manchester Police shared that in January 2024 they filled twenty drums of knives from amnesty boxes, which aquaits to approximately 3,000 knives collected since 2020.
With the event hoping to reduce the number of people carrying weapons in Salford neighbourhood’s and the Greater Manchester area, it aims to decrease the potential dangers on the streets.
Superintendent Caroline Hemingway who leads GMP’s response to knife crime said: “I’m extremely proud of the work of our team and this new legislation will only help this further.
“In July 2024, we saw a 4% decrease in serious violent crime from June 2024.”
As she Caroline continued to add: “What this scheme will do is give us the opportunity to take more knives off the streets, but potentially save lives.”
With the plan being apart of Operation Venture, which was formed in December 2022 the plan aims to reduce the number of weapons on the streets.
With Kate Green, Deputy Mayor of policing, crime, criminal justice, and fire, adding: “Officers from Operation Venture are proactively patrolling violence hotspots across Greater Manchester, taking knives off our streets and keeping people safe.
“Their work has had a huge impact in terms of reducing knife crime and the number of serious incidents that occur.”
Visitors who do attend the drop off event will also be able to claim compensation for their knives if they complete the compensation form.
The form will need to be completed to collect the standard compensation of £10 for each knife, unless you able to prove the value.
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