A British company will sell knives with square tips after a sharp rise in knife crime

British cutlery company Viners created a set of knives with square tips, which is reportedly in response to the rise of knife crime in the UK.

Sold in a set of four, the "Assure" knife set retails for $18.85 (£14.50) on the Viners website.

Individual "Assure" knives cost between $4.55 (£3.50) or $6.50 (£5.00).

The knife set will be in stock on the Viners website in February.

"The squared tip has been designed to maximize safe use in and around the home, assuring the performance will not be compromised," the Viners knife set description reads.

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A cutlery company has created a range of knives with blunt tips in response to knife crime statistics in the UK.

In October 2019, it was reported that knife crime had reached a record high in England and Wales, with more than 44,000 offences involving a knife or a sharp instrument recorded by police in the 12 months leading up to June.

This marked a seven per cent increase on the previous year, with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) stating that the number of crimes involving knives was at its highest point since the 2010 to 2011 period.

In a bid to tackle knife crime, British cutlery and kitchenware firm Viners, which was founded in Sheffield in 1901, has designed a new range of knives with square ends.

The company says the range, named the "Assure collection," has been created "in response to rising knife crime statistics and new government legislation."

Due to be released later this week it has been "repeatedly tested to ensure the tip does not pierce skin intentionally or otherwise."

"With knife-related crime incidents at a record high and a reported 285 fatalities in the last 12 months alone, the UK government has taken 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 in retail stores," a press release for the knife collection stated.

"The new Assure collection from Viners has been created in response to this new legislation, with the team extensively testing a new shape knife that is highly functional for the modern cook but shaped to reduce and prevent injuries, accidents and fatalities."

Single knives in the range cost either £3.99 or £5.99, while a four-piece set costs £15.99.

The knives will be available to purchase later this week from home furnishings retailer Dunelm, before being released on the Viners website from Sunday 16 February.

Viners says that the knives deliver the "same functionality as a standard knife" in the kitchen, while "helping to reduce unnecessary accidents when preparing food and washing up."

In August 2019, young people affected by knife crime delivered a letter to Boris Johnson at 10 Downing Street addressing the topic.

More than 100 people signed the 12-point manifesto, which outlined actions that they believe could be taken to reduce the prevalence of knife crime.

The young people involved with the creation of the letter collaborated with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Knife Crime.