Amnesty takes knives off county's streets

The one-week initiative was part of a national campaign to reduce the number of illegal knives in circulation.

Items handed in included a saw, crowbar, meat cleaver and a number of combat-style knives.

In addition, although 
Hertfordshire experiences 
little knife crime compared with other parts of the 
country, the amnesty 
provided an opportunity to 
issue some strong messages and advice about the risks of carrying a knife in public.

Officers also ran a series of test purchase operations in the county, using police 
cadets who tried to buy knives from 30 retailers in Hemel Hempstead, Watford, and 
Stevenage. The underage 
cadets managed to buy knives at eight of these premises.

Inspector Ian Grout who lead the amnesty, said: “The amnesty has been very 
successful and helped to spread the message that 
carrying knives in public could lead to being arrested or be dangerous for those who carry them.

“There is very little knife crime in Hertfordshire, but it is important to continue to ensure that knives are not being carried around on the streets and that they are not getting into the hands of minors.

“We will be speaking with the businesses that sold knives to our cadets and will be regularly checking up on all knife outlets to make sure they are observing the law.”

48 bins were deposited in bins in Hatfield, 28 in Stevenage, and six in Watford.