Latest collection figures have revealed that three of our knife surrender bins have taken 622 weapons off the streets over the last 10 months. The weapons surrendered included a sword, a machete style blade, a banned zombie knife, a meat cleaver and multiple large kitchen knives.
We have four weapon surrender bins across the borough located in Abbey Wood, Eltham, Thamesmead and Woolwich to help reduce knife crime, in collaboration with our partner organisation Word 4 Weapons. The bin in Thamesmead is part of the Home Office’s national weapons surrender scheme. Anyone can use these bins to dispose of dangerous weapons anonymously and safely without fear or prosecution.
The bins are securely bolted to a concrete base with a letter box design which does not allow people to be able to reach the contents inside.
Councillor Rachel Taggart-Ryan, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Enforcement, said: “To date our weapon surrender bins have removed over 836 dangerous weapons from our streets since they have been installed. This shows just how effective the bins are in helping to keep our communities safe with people choosing to dispose of weapons responsibly.
“These bins are part of our wider serious violence prevention strategy which includes providing safe places for young people to go such as youth hubs, play centres, children's centres, family hubs, and our public Safehaven Superhubs where anyone can go if they feel threatened or in danger. We have recently launched our Integrated Enforcement Plan which outlines how we are actively working with the police to increase safety measures across the borough. Our Let’s Live Knife Free campaign has also been used in over 30 schools to raise awareness of the impact of knife crime.”
We have four weapon surrender bins placed in:
- Abbey Wood, located near the Abbey Wood library, at the back of the Old Council Office on Eynsham Drive/Finchdale Road, SE2.
- Hutchins Road, Thamesmead, SE28 8AT, located near to the underpass. See the specific location here.
- Sutcliffe Park, Meadowside, Eltham SE9, located to the right of the main entrance on Eltham Road.
- Woolwich Town Centre, on Calderwood Street, at the junction with Powis Street.
Visit our website to find out more about our ‘Let’s Live #KnifeFree’ campaign, the risks of carrying a knife and the help and local support available.
You can help prevent knife crime and report information anonymously by visiting Crimestoppers, Fearless, or by calling 0800 555 111. If you are ever in danger, or need immediate help, always call 999.