Amnesty van takes thousands of knives off streets

An amnesty van is travelling across the West Midlands helping rid the UK's streets of thousands of knives.

The van, operated by anti-knife crime charity Fazamnesty, has visited Handsworth and Coventry, and will be heading to Willenhall and Dudley later to provide a "no questions asked" route for those with dangerous weapons to surrender them safely.

Charity founder Faron Paul said: "I was stabbed on two different occasions, collectively 18 times. I just wanted to put it behind me and use it as a driving force to stop knife crime."

Home Office figures show that more than 15,000 knives and offensive weapons have been surrendered in England-wide amnesty projects, since July 2025.

The government-led knife surrender projects, backed by charities Words4Weapons and Fazamnesty, saw 37 static collection bins appear in the West Midlands, Greater Manchester and London last summer, in addition to the mobile surrender van.

"We have had thousands of weapons surrendered through the van, and I feel like a lot of people resonate with the fact that the van can come to them. Where they choose, where they feel safe," Paul explained.

"If you have something that you want to get rid of, make sure you come down to see us. No questions will be asked. No judgement. No prosecution. It doesn't matter who you are, and why you have got something."

Young volunteers from the Positive Youth Foundation have also been at the van locations, hoping to speak to their peers about knife crime and help them better understand the ramifications of possessing weapons.

One volunteer, Ayrik Jahedi who's from Walsall, said: "Don't be scared. This is an opportunity for you to come forward and contribute to a safer area."

Another volunteer, Simran Sagoo from Solihull, said: "We are here to encourage people and educate people on knife crime and knife disposable vans. We encourage people to get rid of their knives and discourage knife crime in the area.

"We do a lot of encouraging youth, and talking to young people whether that be kids who are 10-13, as well as people who are our age, just encouraging them to make their voices heard, make a change and stand up for issues."

The government said that since 2024, overall knife crime is down 11%, with knife-enabled robberies down by 16% and knife-linked homicides falling by 26%.

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Simon Foster, said: "The network of surrender bins we have across the West Midlands and the mobile national campaign is an opportunity for people to safely, simply and responsibly dispose of their dangerous weapons.

"Whether they be knives, guns, machetes or swords. I would encourage people to take advantage of this opportunity and dispose of those weapons safely and securely."

A map of static surrender bins can be found on the PCC's website.

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