Ninja sword surrender underway in Merseyside
It will illegal to keep these weapons from 1 August
Ninja swords can be surrendered to certain police stations across Merseyside for the next month without punishment.
Merseyside Police are joining other forces across the country to remove dangerous weapons from the streets.
The weapon is defined as a blade between 14 and 24 inches in length, with a primary and secondary cutting edge, a blunt spine, and either a tanto-style point or a reversed tanto-style point.
Anyone found with one of these weapons after 1 August 2025 could be prosecuted, which includes a possible jail term.
It will also be illegal to keep these weapons in private places, including the home.
Owners will be offered £5 compensation per ninja sword, but only during this surrender, if it's handed in to a designated police station, and if the weapon was bought before 27 March 2025.
The main police stations open weekdays between 10am and 8pm and on Saturdays between 10am and 6pm are:
- St Anne Street, Liverpool, L3 3HJ
- Birkenhead, Wirral, CH41 5EU
- Huyton, Knowsley, L36 9XU
- St Helens, WA10 1TG
- Southport, Sefton, PR9 0LL
The sister stations they can be handed in to, open Tuesday to Friday between 10am and 6pm, are:
- Admiral Street, Liverpool, L8 8JN
- Wallasey, Wirral, CH44 1DA
- Kirkby, Knowsley, L32 8RF
- Newton-Le-Willows, St Helens, WA12 9BW
- Bootle (Marsh Lane), Sefton, L20 5BW
The swords have to be wrapped up and placed in a sealed bag or box.
Retailers or people who are planning to surrender more than 10 weapons at once have to contact the police station they're going to in advance to make an appointment.
Anyone planning to surrender a weapon also has to fill out a form beforehand on the government website.
Superintendent Phil Mullally, Lead for Serious Violence and Knife Crime at Merseyside Police, said:
"We’re pleased to support this national initiative to help rid our communities of dangerous knives and offensive weapons. Ninja swords are dangerous weapons that have no place on our streets.
"The scheme is running for four weeks, so that’s plenty of time for anyone who has one of these weapons in their home to hand it in at one of our designated stations, and we strongly encourage them to do so. We’ve had some good successes with our previous knife surrenders, including 50 weapons handed in during Sceptre in May.
"While incidents involving ninja swords are thankfully rare in Merseyside, this surrender supports our wider work to tackle knife crime and serious violence. Every weapon handed in is one less that could be used to cause harm."