Zombie-style knife ban backed by Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner

New legislation banning the sale of zombie-style knives has been backed by Bedfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Festus Akinbusoye.

The move follows the start of a flagship anti-knife crime campaign which has reached more than 5,000 students in 15 schools across Bedfordshire.

The ‘Just Drop It’ campaign, which began in November, focuses on the devastating impact of knife crime.

Mr Akinbusoye said: “The sad reality is that the effects of knife crime are rippling viciously throughout our community.

“Not only as commissioner, or a resident of Bedfordshire, but as a father, the crisis of knife crime and serious violence on our streets is of real concern to me. So, I welcome the government taking positive and robust steps to strengthen existing knife crime laws.

“My office has invested in prevention and early intervention services for schools and the wider community, as well as securing dedicated government funding to tackle gangs, organised crime and the root causes of violence and exploitation.

“I am also proud to support the efforts of our Violence and Exploitation Reduction Unit (VERU) alongside Bedfordshire Police, who are actively working to educate our young people, while providing a platform for those directly impacted by knife crime to speak out and influence change.”

“I continue to work closely with Bedfordshire Police, local authorities, voluntary organisations, faith groups and wider communities to tackle the cause of this terrible crime in our county.”

The new legislation also includes measures to raise the maximum sentence for the possession of banned weapons from six months to two years and gives the police the power to seize and destroy knives found in homes, if there are reasonable grounds to suspect they will be used for serious crime.

Ahead of the ban’s enforcement later this year, owners of the blades are being urged to surrender their weapons in one of the county’s 11 weapon’s bins. From September, anyone in possession of zombie knife will face time behind bars.

Find out more about the role of Bed’s PCC via his website. Report concerns about knife crime here or call police on 101.