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Saturday, 6th September 2008

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Knife amnesty deadline looms



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A MACHETE with an 18-inch blade has been handed into Berwick police station during an amnesty aimed at getting knives off the town's streets.
However, it is one of only four blades to be deposited in the bin at the station since the forcewide knife crime campaign was launched by Chief Constable Mike Craik two weeks ago.
Sgt Keith Smith, based at Berwick, said: "While knife crime has becom
e a major issue in Britain's big cities it has not been a problem in Berwick.
"I think the low numbers of knives handed in during the amnesty reflect that and it is probably what we would have expected given the experience of the last amnesty."
Chief Supt Kevin Lambert, Northumberland Area Command, added: "The amnesty is giving people the chance to get rid of any knives legally before we come after them and make arrests.
"As well as this tough enforcement action which will take place throughout the campaign and beyond, we're carrying out reassurance in the community and over the coming weeks will also highlight our work with the public, our partners, and retailers, schools and licensees.
"I'd like to stress that Northumberland is a safe place to live and we don't have the same issue with knife crime as other areas, however, we recognise the public are concerned about it and this campaign is about addressing those concerns."
The campaign is focusing on enforcement and reassurance and encouraging local people to give local officers information about suspects.
Serious violent knife crime in Northumbria is continuing to fall and through January to June fell a further 19 per cent.
Neighbourhood inspectors are also in the process of attending community meetings to speak directly to the public about the campaign and get their views on knife crime in their area.
Mr Craik said: "The community plays a key role in this campaign and their views are very important to us.
"We want to know what people think, whether or not they see knife crime as a problem in their area and what they'd like to see happen. Once we have those views we'll do all we can to act on the information we're provided with.
"So far the campaign has been received very positively by the community and I'm pleased about that."
The knife amnesty ends tomorrow (Friday).



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  • Last Updated: 06 August 2008 11:49 AM
  • Source: n/a
  • Location: Berwick
 
 
  

 
 


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