Hundreds of knives surrendered in West Yorkshire as knife robberies fall, Home Office says
337 knives were handed in through a single bin
Hundreds of knives and dangerous weapons have been handed in across West Yorkshire in one month, with new figures also showing a fall in knife-enabled robberies.
A total of 583 knives and weapons were surrendered through eight Home Office-funded collection bins in West and South Yorkshire during August.
Leeds was among the eight Yorkshire cities and towns to receive new knife surrender bins in a bid to make neighbourhoods safer and reduce knife crime.
Of the knives surrendered, 439 were handed in across West Yorkshire, including 337 through a single bin in Halifax.
Knife-enabled robberies have fallen by 19% in West Yorkshire since the last general election, the Home Office said.
The seven forces, including West Yorkshire Police, are working together through the Home Office-led Knife Enabled Robbery Group to share intelligence and target offenders and crime hotspots.
The August surrender campaign saw 3,811 knives and weapons handed in across England and Wales. This included 3,049 deposited in Word 4 Weapons collection bins and a further 762 handed to the FazAmnesty mobile surrender van.
Caroline Willgoose, whose 15-year-old son Harvey was stabbed to death at his school in Sheffield, welcomed the figures.
She said: "As a family we are delighted to see these results from the Government. It gives me personally great joy to know that Yorkshire has particularly benefited from this work.
"Since Harvey’s death, I have used my grief to try and create a legacy for him that saves lives.
"It hasn’t been easy, but to be able to work alongside the government to save lives of young people so that fewer families have to suffer like mine have done. We know we are being listened to, and I hope these results demonstrate the rest of the country is listening too."
Earlier this year. the YEP revealed that children as young as 12 were arrested for possession of a knife, blade or sharply pointed article by Leeds District Police in 2023, 2024 and 2025, while the youngest person arrested in 2026 was just 13.
The data further revealed that, between January 2023 and the start of April 2026, 335 young men, aged 13-21, were arrested for possession of an article with a blade or point in Leeds, while 24 young women were arrested during the same time period.
Sixteen areas across Yorkshire are being targeted through the Government's £26.25m Knife Crime Concentrations Fund for 2026/27.
This includes nine hotspots in West Yorkshire, with funding supporting measures such as additional police patrols, improved CCTV, action against prolific offenders and work with young people at risk of violence.
West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin said: "Getting deadly weapons off our streets is crucial to a safer, fairer region, so I am really pleased to see our combined efforts paying off.
"We all know the devastating consequences that knife crime can have for individuals, families and communities, which is why we must continue to work together to tackle this."