http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article571668.ece
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Thousands of knives expected in amnesty
By Jason Bennetto, Crime Correspondent
Published: 25 May 2006
Police are hoping that up 30,000 knives, cleavers and swords will be handed in during a five-week amnesty that began yesterday with a publicity campaign.
Teenage boys are the main target for the initiative, provoking criticism from relatives of victims that "real" criminals will not hand in their weapons.
Police chiefs admitted that they do not expect "hardened gangsters" to give up their weapons. Instead they want to reduce the number of knives in circulation and stop teenagers carrying them as "protection". They hope to match the last campaign when 30,000 weapons were surrendered in 1995.
The amnesty, which lasts until 30 June, is running throughout England, Northern Ireland and Wales. Scotland is running its own amnesty concurrently. Red bins will be placed in most police stations and may also be left in churches, supermarkets and schools.
Although the initiative offers an amnesty for people who illegally own a weapon, anyone who is found to have used a knife in a crime will be prosecuted. Ian Johnston, Chief Constable of British Transport Police, said: "There is a lot of evidence that youngsters are drifting into a culture of knife crime. We are saying that this is extremely dangerous."
Police are hoping that up 30,000 knives, cleavers and swords will be handed in during a five-week amnesty that began yesterday with a publicity campaign.
Teenage boys are the main target for the initiative, provoking criticism from relatives of victims that "real" criminals will not hand in their weapons.
Police chiefs admitted that they do not expect "hardened gangsters" to give up their weapons. Instead they want to reduce the number of knives in circulation and stop teenagers carrying them as "protection". They hope to match the last campaign when 30,000 weapons were surrendered in 1995.
The amnesty, which lasts until 30 June, is running throughout England, Northern Ireland and Wales. Scotland is running its own amnesty concurrently. Red bins will be placed in most police stations and may also be left in churches, supermarkets and schools.
Although the initiative offers an amnesty for people who illegally own a weapon, anyone who is found to have used a knife in a crime will be prosecuted. Ian Johnston, Chief Constable of British Transport Police, said: "There is a lot of evidence that youngsters are drifting into a culture of knife crime. We are saying that this is extremely dangerous."
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Holy crap. First they acknowledge that they don't expect criminals to turn anything in, and then add that they want people to stop carrying protection.
If they tried this kind of shit in the U.S., well..."from my cold dead hands"
Am I the only one who sees the all-encompassingly retardedness of this?
They say that the only two things certain in life are death and taxes. I prefer them in that order.