Police praise zombie knife ban in bid to keep Cambridgeshire safe
Today's the last day for people to surrender the weapon without fear of repercussion
Police in Cambridgeshire are hoping a ban on zombie knives will lead to less crime on our streets.
Anyone with these weapons can hand them into police anonymously without repercussions, before they're banned from tomorrow (Tuesday).
Surrender bins have been in place at police stations across England and Wales since last month.
Zombie knives and machetes will be added to the list of dangerous weapons banned from ownership, alongside Samurai swords, butterfly knives and push daggers.
Inspector Karl Secker is Cambridgeshire Police's tactical lead for knife crime:
"It's another knife that's banned, which is fantastic and another weapon that's being made illegal that hopefully won't harm someone," he said.
"There are always going to be people that don't care about the legality of something, but we now have the power to challenge and try and prevent that person from doing it.
"There is no use for a zombie knife other than to harm someone; it's a massive weapon.
"They've brought in this ban because these knives slipped through previous legislation, so they've covered that hole; they've reduced the risk of someone having these knives out on the street."
Possession of knife offences on the drop
A zombie-styled knife and machete are weapon with the blade more than eight inches in length and a serrated cutting edge.
A previous loophole in the law meant that the blades were not illegal unless they contained imagery which depicts violence.
In 2023-24, Cambridgeshire Police found possession of knife offences dropped by 5% with 318 offences recorded in the last 12 months.
Inspector Secker said zombie-style knives are a risk to people's lives.
"Knife crime is a bad thing that you don't need to carry knives; there are consequences if you do, but the consequences are likely to be with the person who carries the knife and you're likely to get hurt, so that's the message we're trying to send," he added.
"Carrying a knife in itself is a crime, but then knives are objects that are used to harm people so the intent is there to harm someone.
"If there is a knife on the street, it's more likely to be used on someone rather than on food (for example)."