Hundreds of weapons surrendered in Wirral knife amnesty

Merseyside Police have welcomed that hundreds of weapons have been surrendered as part of a knife amnesty to coincide with the Knife Angel in Birkenhead Park. 

The Knife Angel is made from more than 100,000 weapons that had been surrendered as part of the knife amnesties co-ordinated by police forces across England and Wales. It is designed to raise awareness and get people of all ages talking about the impact of knife crime and all forms of violence and aggression in our communities.

Over the past four weeks, the Knife Angel has been situated at the Grand Arch in Birkenhead. Merseyside Police installed amnesty bins at the Knife Angel, as well as at various locations across Merseyside, for anyone to dispose of weapons safely and without fear of prosecution. 

The amnesty bins have now been emptied and a total of 350 weapons have been handed in across all locations – a great success as part of our ongoing efforts to tackle and prevent knife crime. 

Superintendent Phil Mullally of Merseyside Police said: “We’ve had a fantastic month of activity around the Knife Angel in Birkenhead, working together with our partners across Wirral to raise awareness of the impact of knife crime in our communities. 

“Throughout the month, hundreds of weapons have been surrendered at the amnesty bins we’ve placed across the borough, meaning that they can no longer be used to cause fear and harm in Merseyside as a result of this campaign. 

“Together with the success of our amnesty bins we’ve also seen more than 80 youngsters participate in the Beechwood football tournament and had lots of positive engagement with schools who’ve visited the Knife Angel and had talks with our Safer Schools officers. 

“Rest assured, all year round our officers are committed to tackling knife crime. We conduct open land searches, stop searches, targeted operations and high visibility patrols, as well as working closely with our communities, visiting schools and involving safeguarding partners.

“By collaborating with our partners, through fantastic initiatives such as the Knife Angel, we hope that we can work to educate our communities and make people think twice before picking up a knife.”

If you have information about someone carrying a knife, or know someone involved in crime, get in touch @MerPolCC, call 101 or contact @CrimestoppersUK anonymously on 0800 555 111.