Knife crime Campaigner calls for more to be done to tackle causes

A LEADING Bristol knife crime campaigner has said knife crime is “going nowhere”, after figures revealed the number of knife crime offences recorded in the city have more than tripled over the past decade.

- Angus MCINTYRE

According to new data from Avon and Somerset Police, the number of knife-related offences jumped from 562 in 2015 to 1,965 last year.

There were 31 knife-related homicides between 2016 and 2024, but thankfully none have been recorded so far this year.

Leanne Reynolds, one of the driving forces behind initiatives such as knife amnesty bins and the installation of “bleed kits” around the city, told the Post she was still seeing evidence of huge numbers of knives on the streets.

She said she was “not surprised” by the leap in the number of incidents over the past 10 years.

Ms Reynolds said one reason for the lack of fatalities so far this year could be the banning of so-called “zombie knives” and machetes in 2024, although she said she was worried those weapons were still out on the streets.

She said she believes the police figures still do not paint an accurate picture of the scale of the problem.

The recent nonfatal stabbing of a man in Castle Park is evidence of the need to continue to police the issue proactively, according to Ms Reynolds. “We've had loads of incidents in Castle Park,” she said. “It ain’t going nowhere, it’s still prevalent in the community.”