Dozens of knives handed in Newport police station as certain blades now become illegal
Richard Morgan meets Gerard Bermingham whose brother Adrian died after being stabbed by a man with knife
From today (Tuesday 24 September) it will be illegal to own certain styles of knives, known as zombie knives, and machetes.
The blades will form part of the UK Government's list of dangerous and prohibited items, including butterfly knives, Samurai swords and push daggers.
It follows a month long amnesty which saw knife owners allowed to hand in their weapons without penalty. The new measures make possession, selling, manufacturing and transporting these items illegal.
Zombie knives, named due to their association with TV shows and movies, stand out because of their distinct blades, usually with a cutting edge, a serrated edge and engravings or images which hint that its intended use is for violence.
The ban has been welcomed by those calling for a crackdown on knives, including Gerard Bermingham, whose brother Adrian was murdered in June 2004.
Adrian, a Royal Marine who was set to be deployed to Iraq, was walking home from a night out with friends, when he was stabbed by Ryan Voisey on Craddock Street in Riverside in Cardiff. After attacking him Voisey fled the scene having stolen Adrian's wallet.
Speaking to to ITV Wales on the street where his brother was murdered, Gerard Bermingham said:
"When it happens to your family you think that it's a one off and it's kind of like oh God we we're the unlucky ones and then you see it happen more and more and there's lot's more unhappy families.
"You think it's not a one off anymore it's becoming more prevalent and it's become the norm for kids, they seem to think that a knife is something that you should be carrying and it really isn't."
Gerard wants to encourage people to think again before picking up a blade and questions the idea that it can protect people.
"Step away while you still can, because everyday you carry a knife, everyday you're anywhere near knives you're dicing with death.
"You think you can handle a knife. More often than not someone else can handle your knife more than you can, it'll end up being used on you, so change your perceptions."
The crackdown on knives is too late for the likes of Adrian's family but Gerard is working to ensure others don't suffer a similar fate as his brother.
He joined the group Put Down The Knives (PDTK) to educate young people of the dangers of carrying the weapons and to give them opportunities to stay off the streets.
PDTK was founded following the death of Harry Baker, 17, whose body was found at Barry Docks in August 2019. Harry had been chased through the town for almost a mile, before he was stabbed nine times, stripped down to his underwear and left to die.
Six men and a youth were sentenced to a total of 119 years in prison for the "brutal and senseless" killing of the teenager.
Newport Central Police station is one of the centres which has been available for people to hand in knives during the amnesty, with dozens of blades being brought to the site.
As well as ‘zombie’ style blades and machetes, kitchen knives, an axe, and samurai swords have been handed in.
There are blades with ornate engravings on the handles, a Gurkha-style dagger, and even some ‘home-made’ weapons. An ordinary kitchen fork with two sharpened middle prongs makes for an evil-looking prison-style ‘shank.’
It makes for a sobering sight and represents just some of the weapons handed in over the course of the amnesty, which ended at midnight last night.
According to Chief Superintendent Carl Williams, there were 466 offences involving knives in the Gwent police force area alone last year.
“We see young people using knives really regularly”, says Williams.
“And they’re more likely to be stabbed by the knife that they’re carrying.
"Our message is please don’t use knives in our community. Every single one of those incidents is a family who have been potentially hurt by a knife in our communities.”
From today there will also be tougher penalties for those found with the weapons, even if they’re kept at home.
Chief Superintendent Carl Williams continued: “If people haven’t handed their knives in by the 24th of September then they will be arrested.”
“We will be pursuing people in our communities proactively and reactively.
“So if we find out about it we will take the strongest action. You are likely to face imprisonment if you carry a knife within our communities.”
Police forces in England and Wales have been operating a knife surrender scheme since 26 August.
The scheme allowed people to hand in knives that fall within the new legislation at police stations, in return for an application for compensation, as long as the total value of the items exceeded £30.
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