Protect yourself and others from knife crime

If you worry about someone you know who is carrying a knife, report it to someone you know and trust, such as a:

• teacher
• trusted adult
• parent or other family member
• guardian

You, or someone on your behalf, can report the use of knives and weapons to us.

The Fearless website offers a lot of support, guidance and advice on what to do if you are worried about many different types of crime, including knife crime.

You can anonymously report via their website by calling 0800 555 111. None of your personal information will be recorded, nor will an officer call you back.

The Ben Kinsella Trust also has a free guide and offers practical advice for parents, carers, and professionals on how to talk to young people about knife crime.

If you already carry a knife or worry about being pressured into carrying one, Childline can offer you help and advice.

You can also safely and anonymously get rid of a knife in one of our weapon surrender bins, located across Avon and Somerset Police.

We will not follow up or contact you on the back of you disposing of a knife, unless there is any evidence to suggest it has been used as part of a crime.

If you would like to safely dispose of a knife or bladed weapon, you can anonymously place them in our knife surrender bins.

By doing this, you will prevent these items from ending up in accessible bins and potentially getting into the wrong hands.

We destroy most knives or bladed weapons put into our bins, and we will only try and identify you if we believe the weapon was used in a crime.

Before you surrender a knife or bladed weapon

• Wrap it in something, such as a towel, and carry it in a bag to prevent injury
• Make a specific journey to dispose of it, rather than carrying the item in public for longer than necessary
• Consider going in daylight hours for your own safety

Police and local authority knife surrender bin locations

These surrender bins are situated outside of police or local authority owned buildings. They are available 24/7 and are not monitored.

• Bath Police Station
• Bridgwater Police Centre
• Broadbury Road Police Station
• Chard Police Station
• Keynsham Police Centre
• Kingswood Police Station
• Minehead Police Station
• Patchway Police Centre
• Radstock Police Station
• Shepton Mallet Police Station
• Street Police Station
• Southmead Police Station
• Staple Hill Police Hub, Broad Street (opposite Page Park), Bristol BS16 5LB
• Taunton Police Station
• The Bridewell Police Station
• Thornbury Town Council, High Street, Thornbury, Bristol, BS35 2AR
• Trojan Free Fighters, St. Jude’s, Bristol, BS2 9DA
• Wellington Police Station
• Weston-super-Mare Town Hall

Community knife surrender bin locations

These surrender bins are situated within our communities in areas requested by members of the public.

• Brunswick Square, York Street, St Pauls, Bristol
• Castle Park, Bristol City Centre (near the church grounds, opposite the entrance to The Galleries)
• Stapleton Road, Bristol (underneath the train station bridge)
• The Park Centre, Daventry Road, Knowle, Bristol, BS4 1DQ

If you would like to see a community surrender bin in your local area, get in touch with your local Neighbourhood Policing Team.

We work closely with the Avon and Somerset Violence Reduction Partnership to help tackle serious violence with education and early interventions.

The VRP covers the five local authorities in Avon and Somerset – Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, Somerset, and South Gloucestershire.

Each VRP works to identify those most at risk of becoming involved in serious violence, whether that is someone being harmed or causing harm, taking a child-centred approach and recognising the vulnerabilities that surround this.

Many children involved in serious violence themselves are victims themselves, via exploitation, poverty, discrimination, bullying, or peer pressure.

We work with communities, parents, and education around young children to understand what is best for an individual, and the risks posed to each child.

Interventions include initiatives such as:

• mentoring
• training young people to deal with conflict
• upskilling professionals who work with young people
• funding sport and youth services
• advising parents, schools, and young people around knife crime

A powerful new knife crime education scenario was launched at the Lifeskills safety education centre in Bristol in early 2025.

Designed to complement Blunt Truth workshops, this innovative initiative will reach more than 10,000 Year 6 pupils annually, helping them understand the dangers of carrying knives as they prepare for the transition to secondary school.

This vital project is the result of a strong multi-agency partnership with the region’s Bleed Kit Partnership and Avon Metals. The Bleed Kit Partnership has generously donated life-saving kits for demonstration purposes, while Avon Metals is transforming surrendered knives (collected from local knife surrender bins) into funds by recycling the metal. These proceeds directly support the delivery of this essential educational resource.

Together, we’re creating safer communities and giving young people the knowledge and confidence to make positive, informed decisions.

Blunt Truth is a collaboration between Avon and Somerset Police and the NHS.

The workshops are delivered in schools to pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9 to:

• encourage them to report, if they know someone is carrying a knife
• educate them on the consequences of carrying a knife
• offer practical first-aid skills to help if someone has been stabbed

Pupils watch a film which shows the different outcomes should they do the ‘right thing’ and report concerns that someone they know is carrying a knife, compared to the tragic consequences of not reporting and seeing an incident play out.

We then have an open discussion with the pupils, offering advice on who to go to if they are concerned, before NHS colleagues provide hands-on first-aid training.