New safety knives aimed at preventing knife crimes to be sold in Wakefield

Cutlery brand Viners are releasing their new Assure collection next month, which are designed with blunt ends to reduce and prevent injuries, accidents and fatalities.

Katie O'Neill, head of product marketing, said: “We have been working hard to develop a safer kitchen knife design in light of recent legislation changes and disconcerting knife crime statistics.

“We have a responsibility to ensure that we are doing everything we can to make the kitchen a safer place and we are confident our new knife design will help us achieve that.”

According to the Office for National Statistics, knife crime in England has been rising since 2014 with, rising the fastest in West Yorkshire.

The number of offences involving knives went up by 8% to 39,818 compared with 36,776 the previous year.

All knives from the Assure collection have been tested to ensure the tip does not pierce skin.

The government took the decision to reclassify kitchen knives as an offensive weapon with the new Offensive Weapons Act 2019, leading some retailers to remove single knives from sale.