Family of Sheffield's Harvey Willgoose hail positive future after 14,500 knives thrown away in amnesty bins
The Home Office claims knife-related homicides are now at a “35-year-low”
Over 14,500 knives were binned in Government-backed amnesty boxes in the past year including zombie weapons, machetes and kitchen blades, according to the Home Office.
Policing minister Sarah Jones said each knife surrendered makes communities “that little bit safer”.
The Home Office launched eight new bins in South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, taking the total to 45 across Barnsley, Sheffield, Leeds and Wakefield.
To say nothing of the six bins set up in Sheffield by anti-knife crime charity Always An Alternative by the city’s own Anthony “Big Ant” Olaseinde, along with three more in partnership with the Violence Reduction Unit.
Anthony’s efforts have seen 3,000 weapons taken off South Yorkshire’s streets, in combination with talks in schools, mobile youth clubs and awareness campaigns.
Anthony said: “Amnesty bins work, for the amount of resources they take up to the amount of weapons they take off the streets.
“However, it’s not as easy as just putting them in - there needs to be word done in the community before and after they are put in.”
Another voice in support of amnesty bins is the family of Harvey Willgoose, a Sheffield 15-year-old who was stabbed to death at school by “weapons obsessed” teenager Mohammed Umar Khan.
Caroline told The Mirror: “We as a family are really pleased with the direction this government is taking.
"With the new surrender bins being installed in Yorkshire, this is just a further step on the road to a positive future. We know we are being listened to now, and that in the tragic loss of Harvey, we, together with government, are making a change for the better for kids not just in Yorkshire, but across the UK, for the present and for the future."
Meanwhile, the Home Office claims knife-related homicides are now at a “35-year-low” after reportedly falling by 26 per cent in two years.
Policing Minister Sarah Jones said: “Every dangerous weapon that has been surrendered so far is a weapon off our streets and a community made that little bit safer.
“That’s why we’re going further and making it easier for more people in more places to do the right thing and hand over their knives.
“Knife crime is down by 11 per cent since the general election but we will not stop until we meet our commitment of halving knife crime in a decade.”
The Home Office claims overall knife crime is down 11 per cent since the election in July 2024, with knife-enabled robberies down by 16 per cent.
Meanwhile, in April this year, a meeting of South Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel heard knife crime has reduced in the county - but the politician in charge of tackling it said she is far from complacent on the issue.
Kilvinder Vigurs, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime for South Yorkshire, said: “Recent incidents with knife crime, particularly involving young people, continue to deeply concern all of us. Whilst overall knife crime has reduced in South Yorkshire, we must not be complacent.
“The figures have shown that they’re down by 10 per cent from two years ago. Our violence reduction unit is refreshing its approach with a strong emphasis on early intervention and prevention, but working closer with schools, families and communities.”