Today, I attended the knife bin at Bilston in Morrisons along with Bilston Councillors, Action 4 Bilston, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner and youth work managers from Talent Match BC. This is the closest knife bin to my ward.
We seen 450 knives collected from this bin today which is fantastic news. We want people to be reassured that they can make use of these knife bins without feeling they will be in any kind of trouble for doing so. Wolverhampton now has 4 of these surrender bins, and they are providing people with a legal and safe way to dispose of knives which they shouldn’t be carrying. Every knife posted into a surrender bin is potentially a life saved.
The WM PCC David Jamieson said that these bins work best when the community wants them and in Wolverhampton the message we have been receiving loud and clear is that more are needed.
Alongside my Councillor colleagues in Ettingshall, we have asked for a knife bin in Ettingshall ward too.
Finally, I think that the issue of knife crime is a wider issue than knife bins alone. I think the cuts to police funding over the last 10 years has contributed to the problem and also support the Express & Star’s campaign calling for a ban on the sale of Zombie knives.
Well done to West Midlands Police and West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner for supporting this initiative which is a fantastic preventative measure against knife crime.