Sceptre: Through heartbreak comes hope as Heywood officers introduce external amnesty bins

Three months on from their introduction at the three stations in the borough, the Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale stations, with key funding from Rochdale Borough Council, now have a permanent presence outside for members of the public to dispose of knives discreetly and anonymously.

With the tenacity and determination of our local officers, spearheaded by Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Jenny George the town had to deal with the shockwaves following the murder of 17-year-old Callum Riley in September 2022 by a knife. His killers were sentenced in June 2024.

Following the tragic incident officers knew they had to do something to help and with the research, funding, and community feedback the plan came to fruition. Full endorsed by Callum’s family and especially his mother who wanted something good to come out of their heartbreak.

Now the amnesty bins, which help remove another barrier, allows people to dispose of their knives they no longer need or those that are illegal, with no questions asked.

Before their introduction, with only the one amnesty bin inside Rochdale police station, during every quarter on average around 60 knives would be handed in. Now with the outdoor versions, in the first three months they have doubled the amount handed in, with 119 handed in during a reduced time.

The amnesty bins are unique and purposely built, having a closed chute that is wide enough to take all shapes and sizes of knives whilst having a lip and non-magnetic to prevent anyone from ‘fishing’ inside to retrieve the haul which is emptied regularly.

On their introduction and seeing her vision come to life, PCSO Jenny George said: “As officers we always want to serve and protect our community. We join this profession with empathy to make a difference.

“Knife crime is a significant issue that affects so many people, so providing a safe space for those to anonymously use it means that if it prevents further violence and protects someone from the devastating effects it is well worth it.

“In the coming months we are hoping designs, with input from our community, will be placed on the bins to further highlight how this initiative is about us all working together to prevent knife crime.

“It’s heart warming how we’ve all come together after something so tragic and we know our work continues but is far more than enforcing and arresting people, it is about educating and helping our younger generation understand the severe consequences if they choose to carry a knife.”

Councillor Daalat Ali, deputy leader and cabinet member for public health and communities for Rochdale Borough Council, said: “As a result of receiving over 1,200 responses from a young people’s knife crime survey that was recently carried out, our council’s community safety service worked together with young people to develop and introduce a short film called Silence the Violence and installed amnesty knife bins outside the three police stations in our borough.

“Our young people, with their feedback, also directly informed other serious violence prevention programmes such as a knife crime virtual reality programme that is being delivered in schools across the borough as part of our wider reducing serious violence approach.

“We want to create a place that we can all take pride in and with our recently funded initiatives to prevent and reduce serious violence within our borough, working together with GMP on a number of engagement events around knife crime and amnesty projects means that we are nearer to achieving this aim.”