Dispatch area to be part of two-week Nottinghamshire Police weapons amnesty

Police are warning people not to fall foul of tough new laws banning possession of certain weapons – even in private.
By John Smith
Published 13th Aug 2021, 10:06 BST
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To help keep people safe Nottinghamshire Police is starting a two-week amnesty on Monday, August 16 allowing anyone to safely dispose of knives and other banned weapons without the fear of being punished under the new updated Offensive Weapons Act 2019 legislation.

As well as being banned in public, it is now an offence to possess certain items such as knuckledusters, throwing stars, zombie knives, butterfly knives and telescopic truncheons in any location,

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The amnesty will allow anyone to safely dispose of knives and other banned weapons without the fear of being punished.

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Illegal weapons can handed in without punishment over the next two weeks during the police amnestyIllegal weapons can handed in without punishment over the next two weeks during the police amnesty
Illegal weapons can handed in without punishment over the next two weeks during the police amnesty

People can use one of 12 amnesty bins across the force area, one of which is at Bulwell Police Station.

Superintendent Kathryn Craner, the force’s knife crime lead, said: “Tackling knife and weapon-enabled crime requires a team effort and we are continuing to work tirelessly and shoulder-to-shoulder with our partners to drive down knife crime even further, prevent it from happening in the first place and to keep people safe.

“As well as encouraging people to hand in their weapons during this amnesty we also want to increase awareness of the recent changes to law which mean it’s now illegal to own potentially lethal weapons within the home.

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“We don’t want to criminalise people but we need them to realise these changes are now in force, to understand what they mean and how they could be affected.

“This new legislation will enable us to remove even more dangerous weapons from circulation, even if they are kept in a private home, help us to further clamp down on weapon-enabled crime.”

Caroline Henry, Nottinghamshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, added: “I hope that this amnesty will encourage people to hand in knives and other dangerous weapons.

“Every weapon off the streets reduces the chances that it may be used to injure someone.

“I said I wanted to ‘make Nottinghamshire safer’ which is why I support all initiatives that will reduce criminal activity in Nottinghamshire.”