Dozens of banned 'ninja swords' handed over to police in West Yorkshire during month-long amnesty
An astonishing number of banned “ninja swords” have been handed over to police in West Yorkshire during a month-long amnesty.
More than 80 dangerous blades were surrendered as a new law came into force on August 1, which made it a crime to own the fearsome weapons. That figure included 66 ‘ninja swords’ - as anyone who owns one can now face up to two years behind bars.
.jpeg?crop=3:2,smart&trim=&width=640&quality=65)
Ninja swords are defined as having a blade between 14 and 24 inches, a straight cutting edge, and an angled tip. The swords have been linked to serious crimes, including the horrific murder of 16-year-old Ronan Kanda in Wolverhampton in 2022.
West Yorkshire Police’s Operation Jemlock team has advised members of the public can always hand over legally held weapons they no longer wish to own or weapons that are now banned following the introduction of the new legislation.
Chief Inspector James Kitchen said: “We have been very pleased with the response from the public to the July amnesty and want others who own weapons that are now illegal to hand then in or ethically destroy them ASAP.
"We also encourage the public to hand over or destroy weapons that are legally owned and no longer wish to possess, to support our efforts to remove weapons that have no other purpose but to harm.
“The ban on owning ninja swords was a very welcome change to the law which gives us a much better ability to limit the availability of these dangerous weapons.”
He added: “As a force, we of course support any measure which increases public safety and which can help us get dangerous weapons that can cause serious harm off our streets.”
Over July, the force paid visits to retailers who previously sold ninja swords to remind them of changes to legislation.
Insp Kitchen continued: “Persons found in breach of legislation, either through selling these swords or now illegally owning them, face prosecution with a potential maximum sentence of two years in prison.
“Weapons such as ninja swords have no place in our communities and we intend to do all we can to enforce the ban now in place.”