Government news and campaigns  
  
Nationwide call to surrender all zombie-style knives and machetes  
 

A nationwide call to hand over zombie-style knives and machetes has been launched by the government, before these dangerous weapons are banned from our streets. From 24 September, it will be illegal to own zombie-style knives and machetes as they will be added to the list of dangerous prohibited items already banned, including zombie knives, butterfly knives, Samurai swords and push daggers.  
  
Ahead of the new ban coming into force, anyone who has one of these weapons is being urged to hand them over – safely and legally. This scheme will be run at police stations across England and Wales for four weeks between 26 August and 23 September, without repercussions for surrendering these potentially dangerous knives safely.   
  
Individuals can also anonymously dispose of these weapons using safe, surrender bins, by contacting their local police, council or an anti-knife crime charity to find out about alternative options, other than police stations, in their area.  

After 24 September, anyone caught with a zombie-style knife or a machete faces time behind bars.  Read more on this here.  
  
Home Secretary announces new measures to boost Britain’s border security  
 

New measures to boost Britain’s border security are being set out by the Home Secretary, including the immediate recruitment of up to 100 new specialist intelligence and investigation officers at the National Crime Agency (NCA) to target, dismantle and disrupt organised immigration crime networks.  
 

Yvette Cooper has also today announced a major surge in immigration enforcement and returns activity, to make sure that immigration and asylum rules are respected and enforced – saying that the government has new plans for the next 6 months to achieve the highest rate of removals of those with no right to be here, including failed asylum seekers, for 5 years (since 2018).  
 

Read more on this here.  
 

Stakeholder campaigns  
 

Crimestoppers Neighbourhood Crime   
  
Crimestoppers have launched their Neighbourhood Crime campaign on speaking up about neighbourhood crime such as robbery, theft and burglary. The campaign focuses on three strands: defining the crimes of theft, robbery and burglary, the impact of these crimes on victims, and the long-term harms on communities. You can read more here.  
  
Women’s Aid service for professionals  
 

Women’s Aid is running a dedicated service for professionals who are currently working with survivors of domestic abuse, seeking refuge accommodation and support. This could include housing officers, police officers, social workers, health workers, probation officers and those working in education or the voluntary sector. We understand that it can be difficult to support survivors of domestic abuse without the ability to access specialist resources. The professionals’ service can provide dedicated support, information about safety planning, referral pathways or up-to-date refuge vacancies in a certain area, or other local specialist support, such as outreach, drop-ins, counselling services and advocacy projects. 
  

Find more information here.  
  
Guide to Meaningful Survivor Engagement   

    
Women’s Aid Federations and Imkaan have launched a best practice guide on survivor engagement. Whilst there can be no ‘one size fits all’ approach to this critical work, they hope this guide will help others to listen to the experiences of survivors, hear their voices and understand their perspectives in a deeper and more meaningful way. This follows three years of work spent developing their approach to enabling diverse survivors of domestic abuse and other forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG) to have increased opportunities to influence local practice, policy and national decision-making.  

  

The guide is intended for anyone in the VAWG sector who would like to begin or develop adult survivor engagement in their work, and we hope you find it useful. Please find the guide here.  

  
Wethersfield community newsletter  
 

The Wethersfield community newsletter has been developed to help provide the local community at Wethersfield with relevant site updates and future developments, answers to questions you may have and provide reassurances to your concerns. Within the newsletter you can find a site update, and updates relating to community safety and health provision. Read more here.  

  

Upcoming campaigns  
  
If your organisation has any upcoming surveys or campaigns that you would like us to highlight in our newsletter, please get in touch with the External Affairs team at [email protected]