Taxis get bandages as part of knife crime campaign

Alex Chivers, a retired firearms officer and veteran who founded the RAPAID charity in 2020

Taxi drivers will be given emergency bandages as part of a campaign to reduce the impact of knife crime.

Cheshire Constabulary officers in Warrington are providing RAPAID kits to the drivers, which are designed to prevent serious blood loss from a knife attack or serious accident.

According to the Office for National Statistics' latest figures for 2024, there are 48.79 serious offences involving knives/sharp objects per 100,000 people in Cheshire.

Ch Insp Neil Drum, of the Warrington command team, said: “The distribution of emergency bandages to taxis across Warrington could be the difference in saving someone’s life."

The move is to coincide the force's response to Operation Sceptre, an intense week-long campaign working with communities and their neighbourhood officers to raise more awareness.

The RAPAID charity was founded by retired firearms officer and veteran Alex Chivers in 2020 and has since handed out over 3,000 kits to taxis across the country.

"It was great to meet Alex and his team during their trip to Warrington," Ch Insp Drum added.

"The implementation of the RAPAID campaign is a welcome addition to a range of initiatives that we already have in place across our town designed to keep everyone who lives, works and visits Warrington safe."