Residents of Ealing Borough have handed 28 unwanted and illegal knives to police in the first seven weeks of Operation Blunt. The unwanted / illegal knives handed in included a large machete, a meat cleaver, some hunting knives and a bayonet.

On Tuesday 27th September 2005, Knife Surrender Bins were placed at Ealing and Southall police stations, which offered residents a secure environment to anonymously dispose of their unwanted or illegal knives.

The Knife Surrender Bins form a key strand of a range of tactics Ealing Borough Police has adopted under Operation Blunt to reduce the number of knives on the streets of Ealing Borough.

Other tactics, which have been adopted by the Ealing Borough police, are a �Bin a Knife not a Life� poster campaign, proactive high visibility policing operations in our town centres, the use of portable metal detectors in planned operations and a crime prevention education programme through the Safer Schools initiative.

Officers also plan to carry test out test purchases on retailers in the near future.

It is hoped this campaign will assist in reducing the level of knife enabled crime and reduce the routine carrying or possession of knives, which carries a maximum sentence of 2 years in prison.

This campaign is dual purpose. The police hope to arrest offenders, those who carry knives on our streets, whilst raising awareness that carrying knives does have consequences - you can get arrested, convicted and even hurt.

Community and Partnership Superintendent Joe Wadsworth, Ealing Borough police said:

�As far as the knife surrender bins are concerned, we were not expecting overflowing bins. Our first concern is to raise awareness of the damage done by knives and to press home the message that simply carrying a knife about your person is illegal.

We will continue to communicate widely the dangers of knives through pro-active led operations, our poster campaign and particularly with young people through the crime prevention education programme.

We have not given operation blunt an official end date. We believe tackling this issue involves a sustained long-term approach to effectively reduce the number incidents of knife-enabled crime. A combination of these tactics will assist in reducing the number of knives on our streets.�

November 16, 2005