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26
Jul 2022
Knife surrender bin to be installed in Harrogate in first for county
North Yorkshire’s first permanent knife surrender bin is set to be installed in Harrogate as part of a drive to tackle rising crime and take deadly weapons off the streets.
The county saw an 80% rise in reported knife crimes from 2020 to 2021 – and police have linked the increase to peer pressure, gang culture and cross-border criminals moving into the area.
In the Harrogate district alone, there have been more than 2,700 knife-related incidents since the start of 2020.
This included two murders on Mayfield Grove, and a man being left with life changing injuries after an attack near the Victoria Shopping Centre.
Other incidents included a man being arrested with 10 knives and a sword on Skipton Road, and three young people pulling a knife on a milk man in Knaresborough.
The increasing trend is being mirrored across the country and knife surrender bins are used by police forces during week-long campaigns.
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But not every area has a permanent drop off point where people can discard knives or any other bladed weapons.
North Yorkshire Police and Harrogate Borough Council have proposed to install a permanent knife surrender bin at the Dragon Road car park as part of a 12-month pilot which if successful could see more bins rolled out across the county.
A joint report from the authorities said “early prevention is key” and that “every knife deposited in the bin is one less that could cause injury to others”.
The report said.
Harrogate has been chosen for the pilot because it makes up for more than half of knife-related incidents in the local command area which also includes Craven, Hambleton and Richmondshire, the report added.
It also said the proposed knife bin was designed to prevent break-ins and that residents in the Dragon Road area had been contacted about the plans.
A decision to proceed with the pilot is due to be signed off by the council’s cabinet member for housing and safer communities, councillor Mike Chambers, at a meeting next Tuesday.
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