By Catarina Demony
LONDON (Reuters) -At least 1,000 weapons have been surrendered under a British government amnesty launched last month to combat knife crime, the interior ministry announced on Friday, as a new ban on ninja swords came into effect.
Overall, knife crime in England and Wales has risen 87% over the past decade, with 54,587 offences recorded last year alone, a 2% rise from 2023 and among the highest rates in Europe.
On July 29, 2024, teenager Axel Rudakubana attacked a Taylor Swift-themed children’s dance event in the northern English town of Southport, killing three girls and stabbing 10 people in one of Britain’s most harrowing knife assaults.
Since then, the government has pledged tougher age checks for knife buyers, warned social media firms they could face fines for failing to curb sales and promotion of weapons, and banned zombie-style knives, machetes and ninja swords.
Over the month of July this year, the government urged young people to drop off weapons, including bladed ones, at “amnesty” bins or a mobile van – part of efforts to control knife crime, particularly when it involves youths. The government said at least 1,000 weapons have been handed in.
A mobile van will be deployed at the Notting Hill Carnival in London later this month in response to past knife-related violence by a small number of attendees.
It is unclear whether the “amnesty” bins will stay in place once the month-long campaign comes to an end.
The interior ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Charities and experts call the government’s efforts a step forward but say they fail to address the root causes.
The interior ministry said that knife-related robberies have fallen in seven highest-risk areas, dropping from 14% of all robberies in the seven highest-risk areas in the year ending June 2024 to 6% in the same period to June 2025.
The ban on buying and selling ninja swords is part of the government’s pledge to introduce Ronan’s Law, named in honour of 16-year-old Ronan Kanda, who was fatally stabbed with a ninja sword in 2022.
Campaigner Martin Cosser, whose son was killed in a knife attack two years ago, previously told Reuters that the issue was not just about the weapon itself, but about the “emotional drivers” that lead people to carry knives in the first place.
(Reporting by Catarina Demony; editing by Mark Heinrich)
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