Mother from Oxford whose son was stabbed to death campaigning for amnesty bins
They hope it will prevent other families from going through a similar pain
A mother from Oxford whose son was stabbed to death is campaigning for amnesty bins to be accessible across the city, with the hope of saving lives.
Aaron Buron stepped in to stop a fight outside his own home in Rose Hill between a man and his girlfriend in 2012.
His killer, Hayden O'Callaghan, armed himself with a knife and went looking for Aaron and stabbed the 29-year-old to death.
O'Callaghan, who was 18 at the time, pleaded guilty to manslaughter but was found guilty of murder by a jury and sentenced to life in prison.
Aaron’s mother, Eden Buron, has been campaigning against knife crime since and is now calling for amnesty bins to be accessible across Oxford, to prevent other families from going through a similar pain.
Ms Buron said: “Every day, I wake up and I think about my boy. Every day I think of my grandchildren and the effect that it will have on them.
“It's just destroying every single family member, every single friend - Aaron was much loved and he was just a kind, loving person.”
She added: “It will save lives because if the bins are there, they will go to the bins and they will dispose them.
“It's just a case of getting the bins sorted and then people can start using them which will in time reduce knife-crimes.”
Some of the latest figures show the number of knife-enabled crimes was 4% higher in England and Wales in the year ending September 2024, compared with the previous year.
However, Thames Valley Police has recorded an 8% reduction in knife crime over the past year.
Eden’s partner, Stephen Blakemore is a former police officer and says amnesty bins are much needed and “they’ve been proven to work in other locations”.
He said: “The problem in Oxford is that there aren’t any, there’s only one which is permanently fixes at St Aldates Police Station.
“Whereas if you have a disposable amnesty bin, they will be used and it will encourage people to get rid of it.”