Knife crime awareness campaign and surrender

In partnership with Wiltshire Police, St James’ church is taking part in a ‘Knife Surrender’ campaign. The campaign runs from 15 – 21 May, and during that time members of the public are invited to hand in knives and bladed weapons. At St James, there is a designated red bin for this purpose, which is placed in the porch on the Union Street side of the church building.

Wiltshire Police are running this campaign to raise awareness and educate the public of the risks and consequences of carrying a knife.

The want to reduce the harm to our communities from knife crime by enabling people to surrender knives and weapons to the police without fear of prosecution. They wish to reassure the public that knife crime in Wiltshire remains low and Wiltshire continues to be one of the safest counties to live in. The campaign is also to share with the public the action Wiltshire Police are taking through crime prevention, early intervention and enforcement to reduce and prevent incidents of knife crime.

The surrender aims to reduce the number of knives and bladed weapon in the community held lawfully or unlawfully. It gives the public a chance to safely dispose of knives, stopping them from finding their way into the wrong hands, whether that is the hands of those who will use them for criminality, young people or those considered vulnerable. During the surrender we hope that people will hand in all knives including illegal knives such as: lock, flick, butterfly and zombie knives, as well as ceremonial or trophy knives. Young people particularly are encouraged to use this surrender as a means of surrendering any knives they may have.