Exclusive: Kent Police exchange rounded blades to crack down on knife crime

In an U.K. first, Kent Police are exchanging pointed kitchen knives for rounded blades in a crackdown on knife crime.

For the past year the counties' force have been offering those who've suffered the devastating consequences of stabbings - and vulnerable families - the chance to transfer their sharp kitchen knives for one with a blunted edge.

And, we've had exclusive access into the first-of-its-kind scheme that's playing a huge role in tackling knife crime across the county.

What is the scheme and why are Kent Police exchanging pointed kitchen knives for rounded blades?

The Safer Knife Replacement scheme allows Police and partner agencies to offer eligible household a pack of 4 or a single 5” rounded kitchen knife, alongside education in exchange for replacing all the pointed knives within the property.

Since it was introduced last year, knife crime has dropped by 17 percent across Kent, and Co-ordinator, Caley Warden, from the Violence Reduction Unit, said: "It's more than a coincidence that the number of incidents involving knives in the county has dropped since this scheme was launched.

"We have taken 344 knives out of domestic households and replaced them with 81 swaps so that's a huge number of sharp knives that won't be able cause harm because they won't be in our kitchens or on our streets.

"The research, by Leisa Nichols-Drew at De Montfort University has proven that a blunt knife doesn't even penetrate cotton, let alone skin but these knives are also less attractive to teenagers to potentially take them out the house because they don't look threatening."

Which households are allowed to exchange their sharp kitchen knives for rounded blades?

A household can access the scheme if someone in their family has been arrested for a weapon related offence, or if they've come to the attention of the police.

Last year, foster parents Chris and Justine Hind from Ashford introduced rounded kitchen knives into their home, disposing of their sharp ones after they were approached by the police.

Justine said: "We have worked with some young people in the past that have committed knife crime so when Caley approached us, we thought it would be brilliant idea to have blunt edged knives in our home, as a preventative measures, so we can use knives safely.

"It's because they don't look attractive to take out, and it's become normalised in our home that rounded knives are the ones we use and I think it would be a fantastic idea if households across the U.K. had blunted knives in their home."

Chris added: "There has been situations in the past where young people are going through something in the moment and I will look around to make sure there was nothing on the side that they could use to hurt us so I guess having rounded knives does take that fear factor away and make us feel safer in our home.

"It's also safer because they don't look as attractive for young people to take out onto the street, so they won't even bother as it isn't cool enough."

However, it's not just households that have been impacted by knife crime that access the scheme, Caley said: "Last week, I was asked to do a replacement in a home where an elderly gentleman had dementia and is confusion had got angry and upset and picked up a knife and tried to assault his wife.

"It's just about going that one step further, making her feel safer in that moment, to have anything change you must have a conversation as that's where change starts because we are all learning everyday, we don't know everything.

"Therefore, if someone learns that these type of knives are available, they can then go off and explore this avenue and introduce them into their home, then we have won, haven't we?"

'Rounded blades will save lives'

Professor Leisa Nichols-Drew, from De Montfort University, has spent years researching the safety of rounded knives, and she believes deaths and injuries will be reduced, if new tactics, like those used by Kent Police to tackle knife crime - get rolled out across the country.

She said: "We found that a pointed tip kitchen knife caused the greatest damage to any clothing, and the only knife that didn't penetrate the garments, in all the experiments we did, was a rounded knife.

"Therefore, the likelihood of injury is severely reduced and we can say the rounded knife will save lives."

'If pointed kitchen knives were banned, my Mum would still be alive'

"This is significant because for the first time we could connect the fact that regardless of the length on the blade, it comes down to the shape of the knife's tip and whether that implement will penetrate that fabrics surface.

In 2015, Tracey Goodwin was stabbed 14 times by her ex partner, Ron Bacon, as she came home from work. The pair had been living separate lives since 1998, but had shared a home in Kidbrooke for 36 years.

Following the attack, Bacon was convicted of murder and was jailed for life with a minimum term of 16 years.

Their son, Alan Bacon, has now spoken exclusively to Greatest Hits Radio, and is calling for the introduction of rounded knives, believing his mum would still be alive if pointed kitchen knives were banned.

He said: "He said: "When my mum was killed my whole life was blown apart.

"Knives don't just kill the person in front of them, they destroy everything that comes into contact with them. It causes a ripple effect and it took me years to rebuild my life.

"I can't spell out how horrendous it is until you go through it: the grief, the loneliness, the court case, hearing it all again. I had to try and sell my Mum's property, which was the murder scene, I had to go back there, it was so hard."

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