Zombie knife ban introduced across West Country
Simply owning a machete or so called "zombie knife" without a valid reason, is now a criminal offence
Last updated 24th Sep 2024
Experts on knife crime say a ban on owning so called "zombie knives" and machetes, which comes into force today (24th September), will only go so far in solving the problem.
The ban is being introduced nationwide following a four week amnesty scheme during which owners were encouraged to hand their weapons in to the police, local authorities or charities.
It follows widespread campaigning for such a ban from people including actor Idris Elba, with the government saying it also plans to ban ninja swords in the future.
However, Charmaine Lawrence, chief executive of Full Circle, a group helping young people in Bristol, is one of many saying action must go further.
She said: "It's something that I welcome. Knives are devastating many lives out there and it is part of the work that needs to be done in order to tackle this issue.
"The youth sector and the voluntary sector is being squeezed very hard at the moment in terms of budget and we're hoping that with the Labour party coming in (to government) they would recognise the valuable work that community centres and youth organisations provide as part of our whole society."
Since May last year seven people aged 25 or younger have lost their lives to knife crime on the streets across Bristol and Bath, with many more wounded.
They are, in no particular order, Eddie Kinuthia (19), Ben Moncrieff (18), Mikey Roynon (16), Darrian Williams (16), Max Dixon (16), Mason Rist (15) and Kunta Ceesay (25) who lost his life last Friday (20th September).
Reverend Steve Chalke MBE founded the Oasis Community Learning Trust, which now runs 52 academies across England including Oasis Academy John Williams in Bristol.
Max Dixon and Mason Rist were both pupils at the school when they lost their lives, in January of this year.
Reverend Chalke said: "The ban is a good thing but what we've really got to do is look at the root causes of youth violence and knife crime...
"This is a huge issue for schools across Bristol and schools across the country and we're in conversation all the time with the city council, with youth organisations, working to try to find the resources and the joined upness in order to offer that protection...we're working at this all the time."
He said, however, that young people of school age spend most of their time outside of school and statistically most youth violence occurs between the end of the school day and 10pm.
"The provision of youth centres and youth clubs and trained youth workers is a vital part of any strategy which seeks to keep young people away from violence and away from drugs and away from being groomed," he said.
"We need to invest in the lives of young people and I often say that a society that doesn't invest in its children and young people is a society that is very short sighted, because the cost of not investing is far greater socially and emotionally and economically to the country, than the task of investing."
Chairman of the National Police Chiefs' Council Gavin Stephens echoed the view that the ban alone is not enough.
He said: "We're acutely conscious that bans and the legislation and enforcement is only one part of the equation, and we know that there's a lot for us to do across the full range of our policing activities to deter young people from violence.
"We're not going to solve the problem of knife crime just by one aspect of it."
Technology is currently being developed that would allow police to detect people carrying knives from a much longer distance away.
New systems, currently at the prototype stage, could first be used on large crowds such as concertgoers or at train stations, scanning passers-by who pass by two points without needing to pass through a detection arch.
Official figures show that knife crime rose by 7% in England and Wales in the year to December 2023, compared with the previous 12 months, but the total 49,489 offences recorded remained below pre-pandemic levels.
Figures obtained by Greatest Hits Radio for the Avon and Somerset area in March, revealed the number of people killed by knives in the force area more than doubled from 2022 to 2023.
We have asked the government for a response to calls for more investment in youth services.