Zombie knife and machete ban in force from today
The West Midlands is currently the worst region for knife crime.
Victims, their families and authorities are all welcoming the new zombie knife ban in force from today.
Anyone caught with a zombie-style knife or machete will now face time behind bars.
Today (24/09/2024), a ban on owning zombie-style knives and machetes comes into force, following a four-week amnesty scheme where owners were encouraged to hand the weapons into police, local authorities or knife crime charities.
The number of crimes involving machetes, swords or zombie knives has nearly doubled in five years, police figures suggest with the West Midlands now being the worst place for knife crime.
In 2019, there were 7,159 offences recorded as involving the large blades, which rose to 14,195 in 2023.
The ban is part of efforts to reduce knife crime, with campaigners including actor Idris Elba pushing for the large blades to be outlawed.
The Government plans to also ban ninja swords in the future.
A Walsall father, who lost his son in a knife attack, has been urging anyone who carries a weapon to hand them in ahead of a new ban today on zombie knives and machetes.
James Brindley was stabbed to death as he walked home from a night out in Aldridge in 2017.
Since then, his dad Mark has campaigned to get knife surrender bins installed in the town - and says every weapon surrendered could be a life saved:
"After the deadline, what happens then? Are the consequences of being found with a zombie knife or any knife sufficient to stop people carrying? That's the big question isn't it.
"I think that anyone found in posession of one of those zombie knives after the deadline should face the same consequences as they would for firearms offences.
"We've got to educate more people, particularly young people as early as possible - through school, college, clubs, through any place where responsible adults engage with young people."
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.
Part of the increase was driven by a rise in knifepoint robberies, which went up by a fifth year on year.
Knife-enabled homicides stood at 239 last year, broadly unchanged on the 235 recorded in 2022 and also lower than pre-pandemic figures.
However, in the year to March 2023, 82% of teenage homicide victims were killed with a knife, compared with 73% in the previous year.
Concern remains among law enforcement about how easy it is to buy knives online, with illegal dealers selling blades via social media, including to under-18s.
Patrick Green from the Ben Kinsella Trust said in June that online marketplaces have little or no age verification, are selling the weapons at reasonably cheap prices - with machetes and zombie knives sometimes selling for around £20 - and can deliver purchases to someone's door the next day.