Following a county-wide roll out of knife amnesty bins at the beginning of 2025, illegal blades, including hunting knives, daggers, and machetes, have been safely deposited, with the individuals facing no prosecution for the possession of the weapons.

The scheme, which North Yorkshire Council and North Yorkshire Police brought in, aims to remove as many dangerous knives from circulation as possible and reduce the risk of knife-enabled crime from taking place.

Many knife amnesty bins have been installed in North Yorkshire which are easily accessible and can be quickly located online by the North Yorkshire Police knife bin map.

Detective Chief Inspector Jon Sygrove, from North Yorkshire Police, said, “While knife crime in North Yorkshire is very low – around two-and-a-half times below the national average – sadly we do deal with the devastating impact of it.”

He also advised that anyone concerned about someone carrying a knife “please tell a family member, a teacher or youth worker, a police officer, or report it to the police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. It really could save a life.” 

Knife-enabled crime recorded by police increased by 4% throughout England and Wales in 2024 compared to the previous year. Knife bins allow those in possession of illegal blades to hand them over with no questions asked, and then they will be safely destroyed and recycled.

Harrogate has collected the highest number of knives with 441, since the county-wide roll out in 2025. However, it has a total of 2,142 since the installation of the pilot bin in January of 2023.

Visit the North Yorkshire Police website for the total number of knives collected and the location or area of the figures.

Photograph: North Yorkshire Council