Nottinghamshire Police roll out amnesty bin in Ollerton for knife crime week

A second amnesty bin will be available in the district during knife crime week.

A permanent knife amnesty bin is available at Newark Police Station, and as part of anti-knife crime campaign Operation Sceptre, another will be available on Forest Road, Ollerton.

The drop off points for people to discard unwanted knives have been set up at police stations across Nottinghamshire.

It will allow anyone wanting to throw a knife away without fear of being prosecuted to do so during the week of action, which runs until Sunday, May 21.

Nearly 200 knives were seized and destroyed after being dropped off into different amnesty bins across the county during the last Op Sceptre in November 2022.

Nottinghamshire Police is hoping to build on that success this time around, with 11 bins being set up at the front counters inside police stations and shared service locations throughout the week.

Superintendent Kathryn Craner, Nottinghamshire Police’s knife crime lead, said: “While stopping people from picking up a knife in the first place is our ultimate aim for tackling knife crime, it is also incredibly important that we do whatever we can to help take weapons off our streets.

“By setting up amnesty bins in different locations across our communities, we are trying to make it as easy as possible for people to discard any unwanted knives they have, so that they can be taken out of harm’s way.

“While I understand some people will have some concerns about going into a police station and using an amnesty bin, please rest assured that you won’t get in trouble if you do so — this is not a trick.

“There are lots of reasons why someone might want to visit one of our drop-off points, whether that’s to safely discard a blade they’ve just found, or to rid themselves of one that belongs to them.

“Certain offensive weapons, like zombie knives, knuckledusters and friction lock batons, are also now illegal to be kept in people’s homes – whereas they weren’t before – so the bins offer a way to safely hand those in too.

“Of course, tackling knife crime is very much a year-round issue, which is why we’ve set up permanent bins, but having so many drop-off points available during Op Sceptre is a big help.

“This initiative has directly led to us seizing hundreds of unwanted blades in the past, so hopefully we’ll see similar results this time around.”

Throughout the week of action, knife amnesty bins will be situated inside stations, shared services and other locations Bulwell, St Ann's, Broxtowe, Beeston, Byron House, Retford, Worksop, Kirkby and The Meadows.

Other permanent bins are located at Oxclose Lane Station, Bestwood, and Radford Road, Mansfield.

Members of the public should check the opening times at the relevant police station near them before attempting to drop off any items.