Campaign sees 460 knives surrendered in a week

PCC Jones said the campaign was not only related to youth crime

Hundreds of knives were surrendered in a week in Hampshire during a national campaign, a police and crime commissioner (PCC) has said.

Donna Jones said the national knife crime campaign Op Sceptre had seen more than 460 knives handed in across the county in a week in May.

The blades were collected in one of the 25 bins installed around the districts to provide a safe way for the public to anonymously dispose of knives and offensive weapons.

Ms Jones said that a mixture of people used the bins, and it was not only related to youth crime.

The surrender bins were funded through a Home Office grant to police forces experiencing high violent crime rates.

It is part of a wider violence-reduction strategy by police and councils using community engagement and early intervention initiatives to tackle crime.

Two knife bins were installed in Shirley and Thornhill in Southampton earlier this month.

Ms Jones said there was not a specific profile of who surrendered the knives.

"Parents, children, care workers, foster parents, it’s a whole load of people and also even not related to young people as well," she said.

There are 18 permanent surrender bin locations in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, including Southampton Central Police Station and Eastern Hampshire Police Investigation Centre.