Update: response received from Met regarding zombie knife surrender scheme
I have received a response from the Metropolitan Police in response to concerns I raised about a scheme to surrender so-called ‘zombie’ knives.
In August, I learned of the Home Office scheme to allow the surrender of ‘zombie-style’ knives and ‘zombie-style machetes’. The scheme ran 26 August – 23 September in preparation for the new legislation prohibiting the manufacture, supply, sale, possession and importation of ‘zombie-style knives’ and ‘zombie-style machetes’, which came in to force on Tuesday, 24 September 2024.
However, I was very disappointed to learn that not all public and open police stations were part of the scheme. Furthermore, there were no Tower Hamlets police stations included in the scheme. The closest police stations in the scheme are in Stoke Newington or Stratford.
I was extremely concerned that people reporting to, say Bethnal Green police station, would be turned away and told to go elsewhere. I was aware of the high risk that, in turning people away, we may lose some of those who had been willing to surrender their blades.
Action taken
I wrote to the joint Tower Hamlets and Hackney borough command, who informed me that the decision about which police stations would be part of the scheme was made by the Home Office.
I then wrote the following letter to the Home Office:
To whom it may concern,
I am writing to request an explanation or change in the policy regarding The Home Office’s Zombie Style Knife Surrender & Compensation Scheme running 26 August – 23 September 2024.
In the message below from the MET police, I was surprised to learn that not all publicly open police stations are part of the scheme. I requested more information and our local commander informed me that this decision was made by the Home Office.
I’m writing to you about this because I am concerned that this policy may make the scheme less effective in getting these weapons off our streets.
I am disappointed that people in Tower Hamlets could attend a police station in good faith attempting to surrender their weapon, only to be turned away and told to travel to Stoke Newington or Stratford, both places outside the borough. There seems to be a high risk that, in turning people away, we may lose some of those who had been willing to surrender their blades.
A 17 year-old boy was recently stabbed to death in my ward, an event which left my community traumatised. I am therefore extremely supportive of this scheme. Knife violence is a scourge on our city and I would like any scheme like this to be as effective as possible. Please see my requests below, and I look forward to hearing from you.
I would like:
- An explanation of the reasons for which not all open and public police stations in London are part of this surrender scheme.
- To extend the scheme to all police stations which are open and accessible to the public.
Response received
I have received the following response from Hayley Sewart, a Local Policing Commander with the Metropolitan Police:
Dear Councillor Bienfait,
I am one of the MPS’ Local Policing Commanders. I have today been made aware of your correspondence with Central East BCU regarding the Surrender and Compensation Scheme and your concerns that Bethnal Green Police Station is not one of the designated police stations.
I have overall responsibility for the MPS implementation of the scheme and I wanted to provide clarity on the response you received as well as provide reassurance that members of the public will not be turned away from non-designated stations in the MPS.
Each police force was given autonomy on how many police stations to designate, and within the MPS I was the decision maker. There is at least one 24/7 police station in each BCU, in additional to geographical spread, so that across the MPS as a whole there are 20 designated police stations. In Central East BCU, the designated station is Stoke Newington. Details of the designated stations are available publically through our website and the Home Office website.
We have recent experience from a previous similar surrender scheme that was undertaken between December 2020 – March 2021 which informed the planning for this one. By designating 20 stations I have been able to ensure we’ve been fully prepared to receive weapons, which has included delivering training to officers and police staff and ordering additional long weapon tubes suitable for the items eligible for surrender.
I recognised and shared your concerns that a member of the public could be turned away from a non-designated police station when trying to surrender a weapon. To address this risk, I have given very clear instructions to officers and staff that we will accept surrenders at any police station, whether designated or not. A senior SPOC has been appointed for every BCU and one of their responsibilities is to ensure understanding of the scheme across the BCU. We have also provided a 24/7 advice line for officers and staff, to provide guidance should a surrender be made at a non-designated station.
I hope that provides an explanation of why not all police stations are designated and some reassurance that if a member of the public attends a non-designated station the surrender will be accepted.
To conclude
I’m pleased to have received this response, and am reassured that the scheme did not risk turning people away from police stations in Tower Hamlets.
The fact that I was mis-informed and told to complain to the Home Office initially, is a good example of how difficult it is to get to the bottom of decision as a Councillor. This resulted in my question being sent to the right person eventually, and that person responding to my concerns in full – success in the end!
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