HAMPSHIRE's top police boss has revealed that 460 knives were surrendered in just one week in Hampshire during a national campaign.

Police and crime commissioner (PCC) Donna Jones revealed that during the ‘Op Sceptre’ week, the national knife crime campaign, 460 knives were surrendered across Hampshire.

These knives were surrendered in one of the 25 knife surrender bins installed around the districts to provide a safe way for the public to anonymously dispose of knives and offensive weapons.

There is not a specific profile of who surrendered the knives. PCC Jones said that a mixture of people use the bins, and it is not only related to youth crime and the increase of young people carrying a knife as a weapon.

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The PCC said: “It is a mixture. Parents, children, care workers, foster parents, it’s a whole load of people and also even not related to young people as well. Just if you’ve got knives in your house and you think I’ve bought some new knives now, how to get rid of an old life and it’s not safe to put it into a black sack because someone can hurt themselves and they’re picking it up.

“Over 460 surrendered across Hampshire in one week during ‘Op Sceptre’ week in May.”

Two knife bins were installed in Shirley and Thornhill (Southampton) earlier this month. The bins were funded through a Home Office grant to police forces experiencing high violent crime rates.

The bins are part of a wider violence reduction strategy by police and councils using community engagement and early intervention initiatives to tackle crime.