Mobile amnesties target 'habitual knife carriers'

A first mobile knife amnesty has been held in part of Middlesbrough.

Cleveland Police is staging monthly opportunities for people to dispose of knives and blades without fear of prosecution.

Officers said the inaugural Eston amnesty saw a machete and a butcher's knife surrendered over a three-hour period.

Over the past 12 months, 387 people were found with blades - 35 of those in the Greater Eston area, the force said.

An amnesty was set up outside the neighbourhood library, using a wheelie bin as a disposal point.

Officer Rebecca Brogan said "it can be quite daunting" to see how young "habitual knife carriers" are."It's now young teenagers, and youths carrying them more so than ever before."The fact they can come to these events, no questions asked, hand them in and know that they will be disposed of safely by the police hopefully makes the community feel that little bit safer."

As a proportion of the population, Teesside has more knife-related crime than Greater Manchester and London and is second only to Birmingham.

Despite just two blades being surrendered in Eston, the amnesty has been hailed as a "success". "Everyone's got access to knives in kitchens at home," said Insp Ian Mitchell.

"It's those people that choose to use them for intimidation or as weapons that I'm concerned about." The force is planning more amnesties at Golden Boy Green Community Centre on 27 April and at Grangetown Library on 15 May.

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