Sussex police boss urges government to continue knife crime focus
More than 150 zombie knives and machetes were handed into stations in the county ahead of a ban on the weapons
The Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner has urged councillors to put pressure on the government to continue its focus on knife crime.
Katy Bourne spoke during a meeting of the Sussex Police and Crime Panel following a question from Crawley councillor and cabinet member for public protection, Yasmin Khan.
Cllr Khan (Lab, Southgate) asked how well a recent surrender of ‘zombie’ style knives and machetes had gone, and whether Mrs Bourne would support plans for further bans, stronger rules, and a clampdown on online sales to stop young people being ‘sucked into crime’.
Sussex Police reported that 155 weapons had been surrendered during the amnesty, which ended on September 24th.
Mrs Bourne said: “It’s always to be welcomed because we want people to give the knives up.
“But, let’s face it, those that are determined to carry a knife, unfortunately, you have to target far more effectively.”
She told the panel that there three Violence Reduction Units had been set up across the county, which were established thanks to funding from the Home Office.
The units were set up after 2019 when Sussex was found to be one of 18 forces across England and Wales worst affected by serious violence, including knife crime offences.
An Habitual Knife Carrier Index was also set up by the force, to show which age group and demographic were likely to carry knives.
The index has since been picked up by other police forces as good practice.
But there is uncertainty over future funding.
Mrs Bourne said: “I don’t think this government is continuing that funding.
“In fact, I’m not quite sure what funding we’re getting going forward at the moment – we’re waiting to hear.”
She told the panel members: “If you could put any pressure on this current government, I would definitely urge them to maintain a focus in this area, because whilst knife crime has gone down in some of the age groups, we’ve seen an increase in others.
“So it needs that continued focus to keep us all safe.”
Figures from the Ministry of Justice show 392 cases so far this year where knife and offensive weapon offences resulted in a caution or sentence.
This compares to 372 in 2023, 408 in 2022, 363 in 2021, 411 in 2020, and 449 in 2019.