The Southend West MP has met with Roger Hirst, Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex, to discuss her ongoing campaign to tackle zombie knives and the reckless retailers bringing them into local communities.
As a result of her relentless campaigning combined with the hard work of Southend Police, the Home Office Minister confirmed a consultation will be launched to make sure the law prohibits dangerous weapons when necessary.
However, to continue building support for the issue and collect evidence on the impacts of zombie knives across the country, Anna wrote to every Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) across the country with an update on her progress.
She has already received positive responses from a number of PCCs, who commended her for highlighting the legislative issue and admitting that before Anna launched this campaign, they had not been aware of how criminals were circumventing the law.
Backing her campaign, Anna spoke with Mr. Hirst on the importance of standing together in their fight to make Southend safer – not just by tackling problems in the law but building police officer numbers and launching targeted campaigns against knife crime.
She was delighted to hear that Essex Police is now the strongest and largest it has ever been, with 900 more officers since 2016, with over 80 in Southend.
On top of this, following Anna’s previous success, three additional knife poles are being purchased by Essex Police which can be deployed in Southend to detect dangerous weapons such as zombie knives as part of Operation Gate.
Anna Firth said,
“My campaign on zombie knives is now attracting the attention of Police and Crime Commissioners across the country who want to protect their communities from danger.”
“I am particularly proud to have the support of Roger Hirst, the fantastic Essex Police and Crime Commissioner, who I have had the pleasure of working with since my election.”
“Together, we are working to make Southend streets safer by increasing the number of officers and implementing effective operations, such as searching for knives under Operation Gate.”
Roger Hirst, Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner,
“Essex Police now have more officers out in communities across Essex than ever before with over 900 extra officers recruited since 2016.”
“Working with Anna and partners across Essex we are committed to tackling those that prey on the vulnerable, reducing the impact they have on our communities and getting these awful weapons off of our streets.”
“Zombie knives in particular have no practical use and should be banned. I welcome Anna’s campaign to achieve this and will be adding my support to get this changed.”
