Two tonnes of seized and surrendered knives destroyed in a year

Any knife, in the wrong hands, is dangerous so we encourage people to dispose of knives safely in our knife bins.

Watch our video to see what happens to them afterwards.

On average, we take two tonnes of knives off Essex streets every year. In the 12 months to January 2024, 23,840 weapons and sharp-bladed implements were put beyond criminal use.

They are taken to a secure location to be shredded. This way, we know, and you know, they cannot be used again.

Essex is a safe county and we’re seeing a continued and sustained drop in both knife-enabled and violent crime.

In the year to date, we recorded 1,519 ‘knife-enabled’ offences across the county, recording 112 fewer ‘knife-enabled’ offences than in the 12 months to April 2023.

This is a drop of 7% year-on-year and 7.5% compared to pre-Covid levels.

Detective Chief Inspector Ian Hughes, of our Serious Violence Unit, said:

“Carrying knives ruins lives and our message to young people who may be concerned about knife crime is simple.

“It is extremely worrying to hear about people who have been injured or even killed with a knife – but carrying a knife yourself does not make you any safer and in fact can put you more at risk.

“We know that carrying a knife in public, in any situation, will only make matters worse.

“The reality in Essex is that a small number of people are carrying knives, but that number is always one too many.

“It is absolutely vital, if you know someone who does carry a knife, you report it to us. Or, if you would prefer, speak to a trusted family member or a teacher.

“Alternatively there are ways of making a report entirely anonymously, through charities like Crimestoppers.”

The best place to dispose of knives and other sharp objects is in a knife bin.

We have a knife bin in every district council area in Essex.

To find the nearest one to you, head to our Knife Bins webpage.

At Essex Police, we value difference. We know we’re strongest when we work together. And we want a workforce that represents our communities. 

If you share our values and want to help people, keep people safe and catch criminals, then join us as a police officer, member of staff, special constable or volunteer.

Find out if you #FitTheBill by visiting our careers page.