Cleveland Police call on public to surrender illegal blades and weapons as part of knife campaign

Since 2019 the force have had permanent bins in four police stations’ front desks where people can surrender knives or sharp objects including in Hartlepool Police Station in Avenue Road.

As part of Operation Sceptre this month officers want to remind people that under new legislation, weapons such as zombie knives and knuckledusters are illegal to own, even if they are kept on private property.

It follows changes to the Offensive Weapons Act in July of this year.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve Chatterton, the force’s lead for knife crime, said: “Each item deposited in the knife bins is an item that is not at risk of doing someone harm or getting into the wrong hands.

“Knife crime has a devastating impact on everyone involved. We would encourage anyone who has knives or sharp objects that they want to surrender, to hand them in by using these bins in our police stations.

“If anyone is concerned about storing knives and sharp implements, or has any immediate safety concerns, they can call police on 101, or always call 999 in an emergency.”

Anyone owning any of the above items is encouraged to take the chance to dispose of them safely in the bins.

The public are also being reminded that it is illegal to sell a knife of any kind to anyone under 18, to carry a knife in public without good reason or use any knife in a threatening way.

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