PCC promises to keep fighting knife crime in Wiltshire & Swindon
Philip Wilkinson's pledge comes a year on from the zombie knife ban in the UK
The Wiltshire and Swindon Police and Crime Commissioner has promised to keep fighting knife crime.
Philip Wilkinson's vow comes a year on from the banning of zombie knives, which have jagged edges, in the UK.
He says the ban has been beneficial as part of a wider strategy combating knife crime, but insists there is continued work to do.
"We are taking it very seriously," Mr Wilkinson told us. "Knife crime is down, certainly in Wiltshire, crimes that involve violence against people are down in Wiltshire. But as always, as far as I'm concerned and the Chief constable is concerned, one crime is one crime too many."
He's promised to keep funding initiatives to educate young people about knife crime and the harm it can cause.
"We've got surrender bins, we go to schools, we've got Blunt Truth (educational sessions), we take doctors who can talk about the harm that knife crime can cause," the PCC said.
He added that his message to young people in schools that he visits is that it is "not smart" to carry a knife.
Mr Wilkinson recently met with the family of Swindon teenager Owen Dunn, who was stabbed to death in December 2022, and said it puts everything into perspective.
"When you meet parents who have lost the child to knife crime, it sort of makes you realise how seriously we really have to take that. And we are," he said.
He's urging anyone will ideas on improving how knife crime is tackled in Wiltshire to share their ideas with him or their local neighbourhood police officers, insisting that "we should always be open to ideas".
"None of us have a monopoly on having the best ideas," he said. "We need to put as many as much effort as we can to tackle this. This is the most serious of serious crimes that are in my police and crime plan."