Cambridgeshire Police Announce Record Weapon Surrender in Amnesty

Law enforcement officials have announced that a record quantity of weapons was turned over during a recent amnesty period. Cambridgeshire Police specified that among the 370 items relinquished throughout the county were swords and large knives. The force noted that previous amnesties in the county typically saw approximately 100 items submitted. The surrendered weapons included 227 at Thorpe Wood Police Station in Peterborough, 139 at Parkside in Cambridge, and four in South Cambridgeshire. Inspector Karl Secker commented: “This is a fantastic result and clear evidence there is an ongoing need to provide people with an opportunity to surrender weapons.“Thank you to everyone who handed items in and to the officers who supported the week of action.“We will continue to do all we can to tackle knife crime as we aim to make the county even safer.” Darryl Preston, the Police and Crime Commissioner, stated: “If we manage to take just one knife off the streets, we could potentially save a life.”He described the amnesty’s outcomes as “encouraging” but emphasized that it was “essential we continue to work together to prevent this abhorrent crime from happening in the first place”. Notwithstanding the unprecedented number of weapons surrendered, the force reported a 7% reduction in possession of weapon offences over the past year throughout Cambridgeshire. During the amnesty, officers also engaged in school visits, retailer compliance checks, weapon sweeps, and arrests of high-risk offenders, leading to the confiscation of additional weapons. An adult found carrying a knife faces a maximum penalty of four years in prison and a £5,000 fine.