Surrey joins national campaign against knife crime

Surrey Police is once again taking part in Operation Sceptre, a national week of action against knife crime which begins today (Monday, 16 September).

Revamped knife amnesty bins have been placed at the front counters of Staines, Guildford, Woking and Reigate police stations to enable members of the public to safely dispose of knives and bladed weapons without fear of prosecution. Simply walk in, bin the blade, and walk out knife free – no details taken and no questions asked. During our last campaign in March, over 100 weapons were surrendered at our knife banks and taken off the streets of Surrey.

Knives destroy lives and tackling serious violence in our communities remains a priority for the Force. Whilst knife crime remains low in Surrey, it is essential we keep on top of this issue and that’s what makes our participation in this campaign so important. 

Detective Superintendent Pete Fulton, who leads on tackling Violent Crime for the Force said: “We are making good progress in tackling this type of criminality. Surrey is one of the safest places in the country. We are working with partners across all agencies targeting this crime type and we would encourage anyone with information or knowledge of knife carrying and activity to report this to us or use the anonymous reporting system via Crimestoppers.

“We are giving people of Surrey the opportunity to surrender their knives and weapons without fear of prosecution or questions being asked. Knife bins are located at the front counters of Staines, Guildford, Woking and Reigate police stations to enable people to give up their weapons safely. These bins are always hugely successful and we want to carry on that success during this campaign.

“Officers will also be undertaking proactive activity across the county to raise awareness, particularly amongst young people, that carrying a knife can have fatal consequences. The message to those who carry a knife, or are thinking of carrying one, is that a knife does not protect you. It will make you more vulnerable placing you in danger of serious harm.”

If you or someone you know wants to join the millions of people living knife free, help and support is available at knifefree.co.uk/get-help-support/. Those wishing to surrender their knives or weapons are advised to wrap in paper or card – in the case of being stopped and/or searched on route to one of our stations, it must be clearly obvious to an officer that this is the intention.

Anyone with information or knowledge that could help us can call on 101 or report online. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to remain anonymous, call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

If you are in danger, or need immediate help, always dial 999.