New Kettering knife amnesty box an 'important step in making town safer'

A bright orange metal box outside Kettering Swimming Pool is the latest measure to reduce knife crime and give people a safe way of disposing of weapons.

The £500 cost of the amnesty box has been paid for by Kettering Town Council, and is being supported by Northamptonshire Police and North Northants Council. It’s the second amnesty box in Kettering, the other has already been installed on the Rockingham Road Salvation Army building.

Mayor of Kettering, Cllr Craig Skinner, who led the project to install the box, said: “This is an important step in making Kettering safer, by getting knives and bladed weapons off the streets.

“People can drop these off anonymously and without fear of repercussion and know that they have done the right thing and potentially saved a life.

“I would encourage anyone who is carrying a knife to think twice and use this bin – and encourage anyone they know to do the same.”

It is the 18th amnesty bin installed to the county – part of a project led by anti-knife crime campaigners Off the Streets.

Since Off the Streets was founded in 2021, the group has co-ordinated, fundraised and provided a total of 72 bleed cabinets across the county, as well as stocking 36 bleed kits inside existing public defibrillators and 160 bleed bags kits in premises.

Scott Fitzsimmons, planning manager for Off the Streets, will be moving the defibrillator from the side of the former Abacus nightclub in the town to the wall next to the amnesty box.

He said: “It’s not just about knife crime. A person can bleed to death in just four minutes from any injury.

"We would like to thank Kettering Town Council for funding this amnesty bin.”

Finally, llr Skinner added: “We wanted somewhere central where people could come without being seen. A lot of people think these are a bad thing but knives can fall into the wrong hands, this amnesty bin has got to be a good thing. The more you can get rid of the better.”