Knife crime has dropped by more than 30% over the last five years, new figures have revealed, as a new 'zombie' knife amnesty is launched. 

Across the 12 months to this March, figures from the Office of National Statistics show that there was a total of 1,165 knife offences logged by police across the Thames Valley Police area. 

This is a 7% decrease from figures to March 2023, which totalled 1,248 across 12 months. 

Over the last five years, knife crime appears to have dropped by 34% - with the figures from April 2019 to March 2020 reaching 1,564 offences. 

The area has been hit by a series of high profile knife attacks in the last year, including a tourist being stabbed in the head at Reading's Walkabout bar and a man in his fifties having his throat slit in a residential road in Slough. 

Now Thames Valley Police has joined a nationwide effort to tackle knife crime with a new amnesty - which includes compensation for owners of 'zombie' knives that are due to become illegal on September 24. 

Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber said "too many lives, particularly young ones" had been lost or ruined because of deadly blades.

He said: “I welcome the outlawing from 24 September of “zombie-style” knives and machetes that are designed solely to cause maximum harm.

"These lethal weapons exploit a loophole in the 2016 definition of what a so-called “zombie” knife is, and it is right that the government has acted to reduce their availability and remove them from our streets."

A zombie knife is defined as any knife that is more than eight inches long with either spikes, a serrated cutting edge, more than one hole in the blade, or more than two sharp points in the blade.

Commander Stephen Clayman is National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for knife crime, said:

"Many of these ‘zombie-style’ knives and machetes are clearly designed to intimidate and cause harm, rather than serve any practical purpose, so the ban will support us by significantly reducing their availability."

Knives can be handed in to police stations in Reading, Slough, Banbury, Maidenhead, and Aylesbury. 

The knife or machete should be wrapped in a sealed bag or box and remain covered at all times. 

Compensation is available for zombie knives, with the standard compensation being £10 per knife, unless a receipt can prove the item is worth more. Compensation cannot be claimed for less than £30, so without a receipt you will need to surrender three zombie-style knives to claim.

Compensation forms are available on the Thames Valley Police website and must be completed and kept with you when you take the knife to a police station. 

Knives can also be handed-in anonymously by using surrender bins across the Thames Valley Police area.