A new law comes into force next month (August), effectively outlawing ninja swords.
The law follows years of campaigning by the family of Ronan Kanda who was killed in Wolverhampton on 29 June 2022, in a case of mistaken identity, by two teenagers in possession of a ninja sword.
The government announced earlier this year that the new legislation would be named in his memory.
Before the new law is enforced, the national Surrender and Compensation Scheme is running to allow people to hand over their weapons without prosecution.
The surrender scheme ahead of Ronan’s Law started on Tuesday 1 July and will end on Thursday 31 July 2025. You can read more about the scheme here.
With one week left of the scheme, Coventry Police are urging you to hand in your weapons at our police stations.
If you want to ditch the knife anonymously, you can now do this at our two weapon surrender bins:
Junction of Grafton Street and Binley Road, Coventry, CV3 1HZ
Coventry Central police station, Little Park Street, Coventry CV1 2JX
Chief Superintendent Paul Joyce said: “We’re committed to disrupting knife crime in Coventry and giving young people positive routes away from violence. The new weapon surrender bin in the city centre is a vital part of that effort.
"With the upcoming enforcement of Ronan’s Law, we’re urging everyone to take this opportunity to hand in dangerous weapons—especially ninja swords—before the surrender scheme ends on 31 July.“This initiative, supported by the Home Office, is not just about removing weapons from our streets, but about honouring the memory of Ronan Kanda and preventing future tragedies. Every weapon surrendered is a step towards a safer community.”
AMT Projects Construction Ltd installed the bin earlier this month, free of charge.
Andy Thompson, Director at AMT, said: “We have been working with Coventry City Council for almost 20 years now, so we see ourselves as part of the local community.
“When we heard about this important project aimed at reducing knife crime in the city, we were only too pleased to offer our services free of charge.
“We think it is a great initiative from the Home Office, Police and Coventry City Council that we were keen to support in any way we could, and we hope our small contribution helps.”
Cllr Abdul Khan, the Council’s Deputy Leader and Chair of the City’s Community Safety Partnership, said: “The weapons surrender bin is really important, and is a great example of partnership work in Coventry.
“The kind support from ATM Construction is really appreciated and also highlights the overwhelming public, and business support to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.
“There is still time to hand in weapons before 31 July, and I hope people choose to get rid of their knives anonymously.
“We all know the terrible impact of weapons crime and we will continue to work diligently with the Police, ward cllrs, local people and all our partners to address this issue.”
This work feeds into the Safer Streets Summer initiative, a national initiative running in our town centres and high streets focusing on reducing antisocial behaviour and street crime, you will see an increase in policing activity in Coventry.