Will new zombie knife legislation make our streets safer?
Political reporter Lewis Warner reports on whether the new ban goes far enough.
The mother of a young man who was stabbed to death outside his home in Wolverhampton has welcomed increased restrictions on knives, although the type of weapon which killed her son is still not outlawed.
Ronan Kanda, who was 16, was stabbed to death in a case of mistaken identity in June 2022. He was stabbed twice with a 'ninja sword' close to his front door.
Zombie knives were used in almost 300 attacks in the West Midlands in 2023.
Ronan's mother, Pooja Kanda, says those who carry weapons should take the opportunity to hand them over.
"It's always a worry that people are carrying these types of weapons. If they're handing them in it's a beginning, they're getting rid of these kind of weapons.
"What happened to my son angers me, it upsets me, it breaks me every day."
The government has not yet announced a ban on ninja swords but Pooja is confident this will follow soon.
Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson MP said the government intends to make these illegal in future, as part of its plan to halve knife crime within the next ten years.
“Implementing a ban on zombie-style knives is just the first step in our ambitious, dedicated plan to halve knife crime within a decade, and will closely be followed by making ninja swords illegal."
However, knife crime campaigner Mohammed Zafran from Birmingham says it needs to be made clearer to young people that there will be no come back if they hand over a weapon."I think the problem is our youngsters think if I turn round and put a knife in the bin, someone's going to be watching, it could be the authorities, someone might be taking photos.
"Maybe people could come forwards, they could work with police, they've done wrong, they want to change, they could influence youngsters to come in and drop these knives.
"If you're that much of a hero, help your mum at home cutting onions with a knife."
The law change next month also closes a loophole which had meant certain types of zombie knives remained legal to purchase.
In the West Midlands weapons can be dropped off at the following locations between 26 August to 23 September:
Birmingham Local Policing Area
Birmingham Central police station Snow Hill Queensway Birmingham B4 6NQ (Sat Nav users please use B4 6AT) Opening times: 24 hours
Bournville Police Station 341 Bournville Lane Bournville Birmingham B30 1QX Opening times: 8am-10pm
Stechford Police Station 338 Station Road Stechford Birmingham B33 8RR Opening times: 8am-10pm
Sutton Coldfield Police Station Lichfield Road Sutton Coldfield B74 2NR Opening times: 8am-10pm
Coventry Local Policing Area
Coventry Central police station Little Park Street Coventry CV1 2JX Opening times: 8am-10pm
Dudley Local Policing Area
Brierley Hill police station Bank Street Brierley Hill DY5 3DH Opening times: 8am-10pm
Sandwell Local Policing Area
West Bromwich police station Moor Street West Bromwich B70 8HS Opening times: 8am-10pm
Solihull Local Policing Area
Solihull police station Homer Road Solihull B91 3QL Opening times: 8am-10pm
Walsall Local Policing Area
Bloxwich police station Station Street Walsall WS3 2PD Opening times: 8am-10pm
Wolverhampton Local Policing Area
Wolverhampton police station Metro One Campus Bilston Street Wolverhampton WV1 3AA Opening times: 8am-10pm
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