"It mustn't stop there" says former Essex MP on zombie-knife ban
132 zombie knife and machete offences have been recorded by Essex Police from January to July 2024
The former MP for Southend West, Anna Firth, has told us she's "very pleased" to see the new law come into force today (23 September) banning the possession of 'zombie-style' knives and machetes.
A new law sees it illegal to possess “zombie-style” knives and machetes in England and Wales.
The new legislation will close a legal loophole and make it an imprisonable offence to own, make, transport or sell a wide range of what are called “statement” knives favoured by criminal gangs.
Zombie-style knives and machetes are defined as weapons with blades over eight inches (20cm) in length, normally with a serrated cutting edge.
A knife surrender and compensation scheme has been running over the last month to encourage people to surrender their weapons ahead of the ban.
From 1 January 2024 - 31 July 2024, Essex police have told us there has been 131 zombie knife and machete offences across the county.
1 in 5 of those offences (25) were carried out by a victim or suspect under 18
In 2023, 172 offences were recorded throughout the entire year.
Ms Firth told us that knife crime is "the number one fear" for young people in Essex for the second year in a row.
"I think it's incredibly concerning that 1 in 5 incidents regarding zombie knives are carried out by somebody under 18. That's unacceptable and needs to change."
Firth succeeded Sir David Amess as the MP for Southend West after he was fatally stabbed in on 15 October 2021.
Sir David was was attacked in Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-On-Sea at his constituency surgery.
An inquest later heard that Amess died from multiple stab wounds to the chest.
Ms Firth said she made it her "mission" to campaign against knife crime after taking over from Amess.
"I campaigned to close an important loop hole in the Offensive Weapons Act to make sure that all forms of zombie-knives and machetes are outlawed. I'm very pleased that law change that I secured is coming into force.
She added, "this law change is very important but there's still so much more that we need to do."
"I'm ensuring police have the right resources to detect knives. I supported them getting state-of-the-art knife polls in train stations to take knives off thugs and hooligans before they get to our seafront.
"The third thing I'm doing is joining Julie Taylor in distributing bleed bags to clubs, bars and restaurants along our seafront.
Julie Taylor told us you have "4 minutes before someone bleeds out."
She's been campaigning against knife crime after losing her son, Liam Taylor, who was stabbed to death outside the Rose and Crown pub in The Green, Writtle, on 31 January 2020.
Ms Taylor collected 115 knives of Essex streets as part of a national month-long knife surrender scheme.
Ms Taylor added, "I should never have buried my grand-son. And no parent should bury their child.
"There is still time every day of your life to put excess knives in an amnesty bin. If you see one, please don't ignore it and dispose of it safely."