UK Police Delete ‘Only Cowards Carry’ Knife Bin Social Media Post

On Friday morning, the UK’s Essex Police Department shared a photograph of an “Only Cowards Carry” Knife Bin on Facebook (shown below), where nearby residents are urged to deposit their knives in the name of combating knife crime.

Late Friday evening, KnifeNews shared the post via our Facebook and Instagram pages. The post disappeared on Facebook after it generated hundreds of angry reactions and comments criticizing the absurdity of the bins and the notion that only cowards carry pocket knives. It’s unclear exactly when Essex Police deleted their original post, but it was still visible on KnifeNews’ Facebook page as late as Saturday afternoon.

Photo Shared by Essex Police

Essex Police shared a similar image and story on their website on August 1st. In that story, a leader of Southend’s Local Policing Team is quoted as saying “the amnesty bin is an opportunity for those people to dispose of the burden of carrying a knife anonymously.”


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But they didn’t stop there. Apparently, a representative of Only Cowards Carry, the organization backed by local police and that administers the bin program, is not satisfied just collecting pocket knives. They are now urging citizens to surrender their kitchen knives as well. “I urge everybody to keep an eye on what they have in their kitchen and dispose of it properly,” they say.